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THE 



CORRESPONDENCE 

OF 

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 

EDITED BY HIS SONS, 
ROBERT ISAAC WILBERFORCE, M. A. 

VICAR OF EAST FARLEIGH, LATE FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE; 

AND 

SAMUEL WILBERFORCE, M. A. 

ARCHDEACON OF SURREY, RECTOR OF BRIGHSTOI^E. 
REVISED AND ENLARGED FROM THE LONDON EDITION. 



As he had a great number of friends of the best men, so no man had ever 
the confidence to avow himself to be his enemy. — Lord Clarendon. 



r J IN TWO VOLUMES. f. 

VOL. II. \" 



PHILADELPHIA: 
HENRY PERKINS— 134 CHESTNUT STREET. 

BOSTON IVES & DENNET. 

184L 



'**— ^ 



!\bZ 






VL 



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Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by Henry 
Perkins, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania. 



^ 



'^v 



THE LIBRARY 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



C. Sherman & Co. Printers, 
19 St. James Street, 



CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 



W. Smith, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 13 

Fox's illness, and character. Abolition by Hig-h Duties. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Bankes, Esq 15 

The lakes. Conduct of Prussia. 
T. Babington, Esq. to W.. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 18 

Advice in commencing the Debate on Abolition. 
Lord Grenville to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 19 

Congratulations on Abolition. 
Ralph Creyke, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 20 

The same. 

Dr. Burgh to W. Wilberforce, Esq 22 

' Dangers from Popery. 
Rev. T. Gisborne to W. Wilberforce, Esq 25 

Prints illustrative of African Civilization. 
Right Hon. Spencer Perceval to a Member of Mr. Wilberforce's 
Committee .-....--.--26 

Subscribing to his election. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to W. Hey, Esq 27 

Mr. Sheridan. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq 28 

Nicole. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Captain - - - - - 29 

His interruptions. 
C. Grant, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 30 

On introducing Christianity into India. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. 32 

Picture of his heart. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More 35 

Schools at Cheddar. 
C. Grant, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - . . . - 36 

Conduct of Indian Government respecting Christianity. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster - - . - - 38 

On means of defence against invasion. 
J. Bowdler, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq - 39 

Asking advice. "Zeal v^ithout Innovation." 
W. Hayley, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. ... : - 43 

Lord Thurlow's Epitaph on Cowper. 

1* 



•VI 

Rev. Mr. Story to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 43 

Liberality of Mr. John Thornton. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq 45 

Acknowledging Coelebs. 
Right Hon. Spencer Perceval to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - 46 

Charge of employing Bribery. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Sidmouth 48 

Invitation. 
Mr. Parker to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - . - - - 49 

" Good-natured whimsical letter." 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Hon. John Jay 50 

Personal. Enforcing Abolition. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 53 

East Bourne. Spanish Insurgents. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a Friend - 54 

His Correspondence. Alexander Knox. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Sidmouth 56 

Politics. His return to Office. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Zachary Macaulay, Esq. - - - 58 

"Seizure of a Slave Ship." 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Bankes, Esq 58 

Duel between Lord Castlereagh and Canning. 
Right Hon. Spencer Perceval to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - 60 

Suspecting dissatisfaction. 
John Jay, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 61 

Condition of his Family. Right of Search. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. Stephen 62 

Advice under religious depression. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Thomas Babington, Esq. ... 65 

Castlereagh. Perceval. Earl Grey. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Hon. John Jay - - - - - 67 

Personal. Slave Trade. Friendly Relations towards America. 
Parliamentary Reform. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 72 

Herstmonceux. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 74 

Duke of Norfolk. Lady of the Lake. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. J. Venn 75 

Old-fashioned hospitality. A young Missionary. 
Hon. John Jay, to W. Wilberforce, Esq 77 

Parlimentary Reform. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Right Hon. John Smyth ... 79 

Improvement of domestic afflictions. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 83 

The death of friends. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. . . - . . 84 

On retiring from the Representation of Yorkshire. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to the Marquis Wellesley - - - - 88 

Persecution of Missionaries at the Cape. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 90 

Captain Pasley. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 92 

Church-building. 



Vll 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to C. Duncombej Esq. - - . . 95 

A family affliction. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Zachary Macaulay, Esq. ... 97 

Cause of Christianity in India. 
Rev. Dr. Buchanan to W. Wilberforce, Esq. . . . . 98 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Miss Wilberforce 99 

Sunday letter to a child. 
Lord Bathurst to W. Wilberforce, Esq 100 

" Good-humoured." 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Zachary Macaulay, Esq. ... 101 

A Review in the Christian Observer. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq 102 

Petitions for India. 
Alexander Knox, Esq. to Wm. Wilberforce, Esq. ... 103 

Roman Catholics may be trusted with Patronage. Their Re- 
formation probably at hand. Church of England stands be- 
tween them and the Sectaries. 
J. Bowdler, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 112 

Remarks on Knox's Letter. Lubricity of Romanists. His 
own Contribution to the Christian Observer. 
Rev. Dr. Coke to W. Wilberforce, Esq 114 

Proposes himself as Bishop of Calcutta. Offers to abandon 

the Methodists. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Marquis Wellesley .... 119 

Dr. Brown's widow. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to R. Southey, Esq 120 

Asking information respecting India. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to R. Southey, Esq 121 

Introducing Mr. Bowdler. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Teignmouth .... 123 

Publishing his Indian Speeches. Southey's Nelson. Adam 

Clarke. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Muncaster 125 

Indian Christianization. Improvement in the Clergy. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to S. Roberts, Esq. - - ... 127 

The Lottery. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More - - - - - 128 

Abdication of Napoleon. 
Mr. J. Lancaster to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 129 

His schools. Borough Road Institution. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More 131 

Mr, Scott. 
J. Bowdler, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 132 

Going into the North. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to W. Hey. Esq 134 

Chaplain wanted at Rio Janeiro. 
Prince Talleyrand to W. Wilberforce, Esq. . . . . 135 

France must be taught, as England, by her wise Statesmen to 
renounce the Slave Trade. 
La Fayette to W. Wilberforce, Esq 137 

Introducing Humboldt. 
Madame de Stael to W. Wilberforce, Esq 138 

Abolition of Slave Trade. 



viu 

H. Brougham, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 138 

Addresses against Slave Trade. 
Right Hon. G. Canning to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 139 

Going to Lisbon. Abolition. 
H. Thornton, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 140 

Letter to Talleyrand, American War. 
Prince Talleyrand to W. Wilberforce, Esq. . . - , 141 

Acknowledging his letter. 
Mrs. Martha More to W. AVilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 142 

Preparations for Hannah More's Life. 
Sir Sidney Smith to W. Wilberforce, Esq 144 

Talleyrand's feelings. The Barbary Powers. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to General Macaulay - - - - 145 

Duke of Wellington's zeal for Abolition. General Burn. 
J. Bowdler, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. .... - 147 

After Mr. Henry Thornton's death. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 150 

Mr. Henry Thornton's funeral. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More 151 

Loss of friends. 
Lord Calthorpe to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 152 

Mr. Bowdler's death. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. Dr. Coulthurst - - - - 152 

Loss of Friends. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - . - - - 153 

The same. 
Bishop of Calcutta to W. Wilberforce, Esq. .... 154 

Effect of his arrival. Character of Hindoos. Sabat. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More - - - - - 159 

Whitbread. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Miss Thornton 160 

Thanks for a present. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lord Liverpool ..... 161 

Persecution of Protestants in France. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Viscount Sidmouth - - - - 162 

Mr. Thornton's children. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a son - 164 

Written on Sunday. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Miss Thornton 166 

His interruptions. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to S. Roberts, Esq. - - - - - 167 

The Lottery. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More 168 

The Pavilion. Intercourse with King. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq. - - >■ - - 170 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to C. Grant, Esq 171 

Application respecting India. 
BishopofCalcutta to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 172 

His Visitation. Native Christians. Want of a Church Estab- 
lishment. Syrian Christians. Scotch Kirk. 
R. Southey, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 182 

Loss of his son. 



IX 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Viscount Sidmouth - - . . 183 

His family. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 185 

His life at Bath. Ministering- Spirits. 
R. Southey, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 188 

Claverhouse. 
Alexander Knox to W. Wilberforce, Esq 188 

Introducing Dr. Everard. 
R. Southey, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 190 

" Wat Tyler." Letter to William Smith. His sentiments. 
Rev. Dr, Gaskin to W. Wilberforce, Esq 193 

Church's Claims. Nature of Schism. Apostolical Ministry. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Duncombe, Esq 197 

Satisfaction at his change of mind. Domestic circumstances. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq, to a Son 199 

On his birthday. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More 202 

Correspondents in the United States. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. Lewis Way - - - - - 203 

From Stansted. 
M. G. Lewis, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 205 

Advice respecting his Negroes. 
Sir Stamford Raffles to W. Wilberforce, Esq. . . - - 208 

Missionaries wanted for the Eastern Islands. 
R. Southey, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - - 209 

Mr. Pitt. Life of Wesley. 
R. Southey, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 211 

The same. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq 212 

Case of charity. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 214 

In reply. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to the Duke of Cambridge - - - 214 

German Neology should be discouraged by Government. 
Alexander Knox, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 217 

Union with Rome impossible. Meaning and end of the Ap- 
peal to the Authority of the Fathers. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Bankes, Esq. - - - - - 227 

Importance of studying Scripture, especially St. Paul's Epis- 
tles. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Bankes, Esq 230 

Horse Paulinee. Doddridge's Exposition. Principles of Study- 
ing Scripture. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 232 

Sir Samuel Romilly's death. 
E. Jerningham, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - . . . 233 

Deputation from English Roman Catholics. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 234 

Enjoyment of the Country. Life of Henry Thornton. His 
political and religious opinions. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Ralph Creyke, Esq. - - - - 239 

Canning's oratory. A domestic loss. His own preservation. 



W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Don Augustin Arguelles - - - 242 

Congratulation on his Release. Slave Trade. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to S. Roberts, Esq 245 

Queen's trial. 
Hon. W.Lamb to W. Wilberforce, Esq. ..... 247 

Queen's Trial. Danger of Revolution. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. ..... 249 

Annals of the Poor. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - . - - - 251 

Sunday in the Country. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq. - .... 253 

Delight in scenery to be associated with personal relations to 
our Lord. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. Wilberforce 254 

Engagements. Censures. Chatteration. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. Hugh Pearson . ^ . - 255 

Restoring Queen's name to Liturgy. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to - - 257 

Intended to meet the eye of the king. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a ?on at college ..... 259 
Money matters. 

Mrs, H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq 260 

Death of Christophe. Passion of Buonaparte. Edgeworth. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a Daughter 262 

Self-examination. Sunday. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Prince Czartoryski .... 264 

Slave Trade. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to the Duchess de Broglie ... - 266 

The same. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More ..... 267 

Her Schools. 
Right Hon. George Canning to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - 269 
His absence from the House. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a Son 270 

Means of improving affliction. 

J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 272 

Anniversary of Mrs. Stephen's death. 
Right Hon. George Canning to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - 274 
Brazilian Slave Trade. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a Daughter 275 

A grandchild's birthday. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Sir T. D. Acland, Bart 277 

Reply to some " desponding v^^ords." 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq 279 

Infirmities of age. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Lady Olivia Sparrow .... 280 
Condition of Slaves in West Indies. 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. Henry Venn 282 

Advice for a friend in sickness. ' 

Hon. George Canning to W. Wilberforce, Esq 283 

Pressing his attendance in House of Commons. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to one of his Sons . . . • . 284 



XI 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More - - . - - 285 

Rev. Edward Irving-. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq 286 

In reply. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a son at College . * . . . 288 

Money matters. College Examination. 
Right Hon. George Canning to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - 289 

Declines promising Compensation to West Indies. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More - - - - - 290 

Acknowledging congratulations on son's success at College. 
Rev. E. Irving. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to a Son ....... 292 

Making a due use of Sunda}\ 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 294 

Visit to Stoke Newington. 
J. S. Harford, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 295 

Belle-vue. Mr. Knox. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq - 297 

Reforms in the Master's Office. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq. - .... 299 

The same. 
Mrs. H. More to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - . . - 300 

His writing his Memoirs. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to one of his Sons 301 

York Musical Festival. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Zachary Macaulay, Esq. - . . 303 

Advance towards Emancipation. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Brougham, Esq. .... 305 

Want of Confidence in West Indian Assemblies. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Mrs. H. More - - . . - 307 

Pleasure of hearing from his friends. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Z. Macaulay, Esq. . - . .310 

Mr. Canning misled by the West Indians. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Miss Mary Bird 311 

Her nephew's death. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to one of his Sons 313 

Lord Liverpool's religious feelings. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Rev. Lewis Way 313 

His position at Paris. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to H. Bankes, Esq. - - - . - 315 

Death of Bishop Tomline. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to 317 

Mr. Macaulay's character. Fund raised without his know- 
ledge to assist in bearing his legal expenses. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to S. Hoare, Jun., Esq. .... 320 

The anticipations of a family friend. 
J. Stephen, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq 321 

" Sortes Virgiliange." 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to one of his Sons . -. • • ■ 323 

Mr. Venn. Richmond. 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to one of his Sons ..... 324 

Peel harshly used at Oxford. 



Xll 

W. Wilberforce, Esq. to Miss Wilberforce 325 

Grateful views of his "Love of God." 
W. Wilberforce, Esq. to J. Stephen, Esq 327 

Progress towards Abolition. 
Lord Holland to W. Wilberforce, Esq 328 

Slave Trade. 
Z. Macaulay, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 329 

Government agrees to the Extinction of Slavery, 
Z. Macaulay, Esq. to W. Wilberforce, Esq. - - - - 331 

Bill for the Emancipation of the Negroes read a second time in 
the House of Commons. 



CORRESPONDENCE 



OP 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 



WILLIAM SMITH, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed, " Private. — Will. Smith, his own loss by a fire, and multo 
raagis, Fox's death.") 

Parndon, September 11, 1806. 

My dear Friend, 

On my own concerns, as you are sufficiently in- 
terested about them to inquire, I must say one word. I 
hope we are very nearly insured ; but I shall be a very 
great sufferer, having previously incurred prodigious ex- 
penses and sustained considerable loss, all reimburse- 
ment for either of which, is by this accident and other 
circumstances set at an indefinite distance: or rather, in, 
my own opinion, rendered utterly hopeless ; but these 
things, though very serlbus, "do not touch me to the 
quick. My children must all have somewhat the less, 
and my boys must depend yet more than otherwise on 
their own exertions. Whether wisely or not, I feel a far 
deeper concera in the assured expectation of that event, 
which, ere you receive this, I conclude will have taken 
place. In point of social intercourse, Fox was more to 
me, previously to his coming into office ; but when the 
thousand considerations pour in upon my mind, which 
rendered his life at this moment desirable, not only to 

VOL. II. 2 



14 

himself but to the puhlic — when I reflect on the anxieties 
and disappointments which have clouded over the few 
short months that have elapsed since he has had it in 
his power to do any thing — the untoward circumstances 
which have prevented his accomplishing the first 
wishes of his heart, and have for the moment, perhaps, 
rather injured his public character ; that at such a crisis, 
the hand of Providence should snatch him out of life, 
and put an everlasting bar against the correction of past 
mistakes, or the execution of wiser plans — should deny 
him the consolation, above all, of enjoying that victory 
which he seemed on the point of attaining over our 
common enemy, the great object of our mutual detes- 
tation, and which will now exult over him with hopes, 
which God forbid should be realized, — that he should 
be deprived, I had almost said defrauded, (though 
I am sure without an impious meaning,) of that solid 
and permanent glory, which, had a little more space 
been allowed, I think he would have secured by con- 
ferring benefits on his country and on mankind ; when 
I ponder on these things, I am apt to think his lot pe- 
cuharly severe, and when I look to consequences, but 
too possible not to be apprehended, I fear for multi- 
tudes, and, above all, for the success of that most im- 
portant cause to which I have already alluded. If 
Grenville should now cool as a friend, or Windham 
grow more violent in his enmity, who is, with half the 
efficacy, to stimulate the one or to restrain the other — in 
short, who is to occupy his station ? When Pitt died, 
as a great man, with many excellent qualities, and 
leaving very few who could challenge competition with 
him, I did sincerely lament him, but Fox yet lived, 
and I had much public, personal, and political (leaving 
out party) consolation. Now, with a high opinion of 
many who are left, I cannot flatter any one so much as 
to say that I think him quite equal to those who are 
departed, or place in him the entire confidence I have 
done in him, who I fear has already follow^ed his illus- 
trious rival. 

How few are there to whom I could thus write ; per- 



15 

haps I say too much even to you; but I know how 
completely you will feel with me on one point, and how 
much on some others ; and I have just received from 
Lord Ho wick and Lord Henry Petty such accounts of 
poor Fox, as leaving me without hope, even for a day, 
render this my most consohng employment. What we 
do, to do quickly, is assuredly one of the first lessons 
which such an event inculcates ; that when in our pri- 
vate consultations we contemplated its possibility, the 
idea did not impel us to strive more eagerly to get more 
done during his continuance with us, I own I do greatly 
lament, but perhaps it was impossible ; perhaps, for there 
is a direction wiser than ours, it might have been inex- 
pedient, perhaps we may yet be successful as soon as 
we ought to wish it. When in town a few days ago, at 
Clarkson's request (who is still here) I asked Lord Moira 
about an evidence, the lieutenant-colonel of his regiment, 
he immediately replied, " What occasion can you have 
for him ? Surely that business is finished." We must, 
however, be far from thinking so, but view the depriva- 
tion of our great ally as creating the necessity for 
increased exertions on our own parts. I have not 

written to you sooner, partly because C did. We 

talked over the points of yours, and I do not recollect 
any thing in which we disagreed either from each other 
or from you. I grieve at Lord Grenville's change of 
opinion, for I can call it no less. Abolition by duties 
with any supposable increase, is at best gradual, it is 
liable to all manner of evasion, and every chance of 
eventual defeat, whilst the great principle, that solid and 
unsubvertible basis of all our arguments and measures, 
is by such means almost virtually relinquished ; and in 
addition to all the hitherto suggested objections, (in 
which I agree,) I feel another, perhaps, rather a refined 
one, but I am sure it is often true, that where duties do 
not speedily cease by the destruction of the object taxed, 
it is their natural tendency to perpetuate it in some de- 
gree or other, by creating an interest in their own con- 
tinuance, and often a very strong one too. . Duties raise 



16 

money, which affords emolument to many, both in the 
application and collection, &c. &c. 

Your last suggestions respecting the expediency of 
attempting to obviate difficulties are very prudent and 
highly important, but present a formidable aspect. As 
to Barham's plan, I will say more about it when I shall 
have received the letters. I fear it is wholly impracti- 
cable. Your account of yourself is very unsatisfactory; 
pray send me a better soon. 

Affectionately vours, 

W. S. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO HENRY BANKES, ESQ. 

Lyme, September 25th, 1806. 
Thursday night. 

My dear Bankes, 

I have indeed, as your letter (just now received) 
remarks, a very numerous host of correspondents, and 
having brought with me to this place such a box full of 
their unanswered epistles as to employ me for a full 
month since my arrival, I never felt the force of the 
observation more strongly than at this moment. But it 
is with truth I assure you, that had I known your 
address, a letter to you would have been superadded to 
all my others, and what is more, would have been 
considered like the addition of a negative quantity in 
algebra, as subtracting from my load, rather than add- 
ing to it. Your account sets me quite a longing. It is, 
I suppose, in part the effect of imagination, and of old 
associations, but I feel a fondness for that country of 
lakes and mountains which is perfectly extravagant, and 
I seldom have been more strongly tempted than I was 
to take a beautifully situated house, the lease of which 
was offered me, at the head of Windermere. Both you 
and Mrs. Bankes will enjoy your ramble the more from 
having so long denied yourselves all excursions. I feel 
quite as you do about Fox, with some very strong ap- 
prehensions of our missing him in the case of the Aboli- 



17 

tion of the Slave Trade. The newspapers of to-day 
confirm the arrangement you had anticipated, and which 
is the best which the nature of the case admitted, that I 
mean of Lord Howick's taking the lead in the House of 
Commons with Fox's place. They have likewise done 
well to reinforce their ranks with Tierney. He, how- 
ever, has proved himself less able in defence than in 
attack. I am looking out with some curiosity as well 
as anxiety to see where Buonaparte, who has suddenly 
disappeared from Paris, with a view as it is supposed to 
strike some military stroke, will come to light. I wish 
he be not too rapid for them once more. It really 
seems like the infatuation of Providence, quos Deus vult 
perdere, ^c, that the King of Prussia should resist the 
strongest temptations to join the late confederacy, while 
it was yet in untouched strength, and yet now, when 
Buonaparte has trampled on all his enemies, and exacted 
his own terms from Austria, after forcing Russia to 
retire home again, that he should select the present 
above all others as the time for setting bounds to French 
encroachments. It may end well ; but I own I fear it 
will not. 

But who, think you, paid me a visit here the other 
day 1 Not Nicoll, but ipse Robson ; — it is really true. 
I own I was at first disposed to be a little savage, but 
there was nobody by, so I behaved, or rather "be-aved," 
though his first abord was not so well calculated to soften 
prejudices, for he told me at once that he was come to 
ask if I could give him any intelligence concerning the 
dissolution of parliament. I was in some measure re- 
paid for his visit by one curious, though far from satis- 
factory, article of intelligence. He had been invited to 
dine at Oatlands, on the occasion of a grand entertain- 
ment which the Duke of York gave to all the royal 
brothers. There were about twenty-five people at table, 
where {credat JudcBus, I mean Goldsmith) Robson 
avouches he was admitted, and the windows down to 
the ground being wide open, a much greater number of 
outside passengers were to all intents and purposes in 

the room. When a cacoethes seizing the prince, who 

2* 



18 

was perfectly sober, he made the whole party a speech 
half an hour long, in the course of which he declared 
that he might as well tell it now, since it would soon 
be known, that the whole royal family, from the king 
downwards, were decidedly of his own opinion, and of 
Fox's, that Great Britain ought to expend every man 
and every guinea rather than lose Hanover. I own I 
was not greatly edified by the declaration. 

I have learnt, from good authority, that it is all but 
certain parliament will not meet before the end of 
November. Entre nous I am wishing, when we do 
meet, to be ready with a publication on the Abolition, 
conceiving this to be just the period when such a work 
may be of use ; when ministry, being for the most part 
with us, people may be glad to be furnished with reasons 
for being earnest on our side, or for coming round. But 
owing chiefly to a succession of little indispositions, 
either my own or my family's since my mass of letters 
was a little got under, I am now beginning my work, 
and I doubt if I shall be able to finish it in time. 

I must bid you farewell, with kind remembrances to 
Mrs. Bankes and to any friends of mine whom you may 
fall in with, whether Grimstons, or Lord Lowther and 
Lady L., or any other. 

I am, my dear Bankes, 

Your faithful friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



T. BABINGTON, ESQ. TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed by Mr. Wilberforce. — " Babington — excellent picture of 

his mind.") 

My dear W. . 

Though I cannot call on you to-day, and shall 
not be able to see you fight your battle in the House, 
you are and will be much in my mind. Send a verbal 
message how you do. May God bless you and your 
cause ! Do not be too anxious, for events are in His 
hands, and He may see fit that you should not be vie- 



19 

torious at present. In our zeal to do His will, we some- 
times proceed as if we wished the government of human 
affairs to be in our hands instead of His. Remember 
how many years elapsed, and what mortifying events 
took place, between the time when Moses was marked 
out as a deliverer of his nation, and left the court of 
Pharaoh, and his final success in the work assigned to 
him. " In patience possess ye your souls," is a direc- 
tion which no description of Christians, perhaps, is 
more bound to bear constantly in mind, than those who 
are signal instruments in a great and righteous cause. 
Consider how much more you have been enabled to do 
in yours than any one who has preceded you ; and how 
thankful you should be for having been thought worthy 
to sow the seed, even though it should be appointed to 
your successors to reap the harvest. Though this 
should be the case (contrary to all our wishes and 
prayers) you will be in the very situation of our Sa- 
viour, who tells his disciples, that they would reap 
what others had sown. 

I sat down with a design of only asking after your 
health, but have been drawn on to preach. You will 
excuse me. My mind was full of floating thoughts 
which occurred to me this morning. I am pretty well 
again, but must be careful. Jean is, I hope, better, but 
keeps her chamber. Once more, God bless you ! 

I shall station a servant at your house to bring intelli- 
gence of the event to-night. Do get somebody (Gis- 
borne, if with you), when all is over, to give me on a 
scrap of paper the event and numbers of the division. 

T. B. 



LORD GRENVILLE TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Dropmore, February 24, 1807. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have just received the account of last night, and 
I cannot forbear adding a very few words to the congra- 
tulations which you will receive from all quarters on this 



20 - 

great event, which we may certainly now consider as 
quite decided. 

I can conceive nothing in this world more gratifying 
than your feelings must be on this occasion, and to you 
it will not sound strange to say, that I trust we may all 
of us, who have in any degree contributed to this great 
w^ork of mercy, each in proportion to our exertions in 
it, look to a reward far beyond those of this world, from 
that Being who has declared to us that inasmuch as we 
have done it to our fellow-creatures, He will accept it 
(such is His unmeasurable goodness) as done even to 
Himself. 

I really feel quite overpowered with the thoughts of 
this success, and can readily conceive what your feel- 
ings must be, who may justly say to yourself, that to 
you and to your exertions alone this thing is to be attri- 
buted. 

Ever most truly yours, 

Grenville. 

RALPH CREYKE, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Marton, February 27th, 1807. 

^ My dear Sir, 

Yesterday's and this morning's new^spapers have 
so delighted me and mine, that I must write to say, that 
we rejoice with you upon your virtuous triumph. Your 
friends w^ould feel the warmth of the panegyrics more 
than you would ; and yet although superbia, when it can 
truly be said that it is qucesita mentis, be allowable, you 
will think more of the substantial good and happiness of 
others than the exaltation of your own character. The 
conclusion of the Solicitor General's speech was most 
beautiful, and I hope that Mrs. Wilberforce was in Old 
Palace Yard, and if she was upon the watch, as all affec- 
tionate wives are, for her lord's return, she might hear 
the three cheers, which my paper represents to have 
been loud and distinct. No Roman general with the 
senate at his heels could step with a firmer tread than 
you crossed from the House of Commons home. But if 



21 

I go farther I may not be able to hold my horse, and 
come to the disgrace of a tumble, and therefore I will 
pull up in time. I was sm-prised to see the minority 
so small as sixteen, and shall be anxious to see their 
names. Upon some question the late Lord Chancellor 
Northington declared that the non-contents had it, and 
four lords only went below the bar from a full House. 
Some one wondered how he could be so much mistaken. 
His answer was " I had a mind to see who the fools 
were." I expected a long speech from Mr. S., who 
is now, I understand, partner in a West India house, 
and there1^i*B^ t^ne of the gang. Where was the mild 
and gentle member for Sussex ? Perhaps you will be 
so good as to send me down Mr. Whi thread's Poor 
Bill, and I will return it to you with my opinion upon 
that subject. It is a disease hke the ague — every one 
has an infallible nostrum to cure it ; but I am regularly 
bred, and think bark the only safe prescription. In the 
same estimation I hold the statute of Queen Elizabeth. 
I warn you, therefore, what opinion mine is likely to 
be. Some little ingredients adapted to each constitu- 
tion may be added, and the dose may be exhibited in 
the most fashionable form, with currant jelly, or any 
thing more palatable, but still the efficacy of it must de- 
pend upon bark. 

I must return to the newspaper ; I was very much 
pleased to read so good an account of Mr. Fawkes's 
speech. He could not have chosen a subject more 
creditable to his excellent heart, or more suited to the 
display of his abilities. He would also sleep well on 
Tuesday morning. You must be all so much above this 
nether world, that frost and snow cannot affect you ; we 
mere mortals in this remote corner are suffering under 
the severities of Greenland. liast week the weather 
was in Midsummer, and now in Christmas. 

With our kindest remembrance to your happy family, 
and best wishes of a continuance of health and happi- 
ness to yourself, 

I am, my dear Sir, 

Ever yours faithfully, 

Ralph Creyke. 



22 

WILLIAM BURGH, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

York, March 17, 1807. 

My dear W. 

I shall never be in a state of comfort with regard 
to your bill, till I see that it has actually received the 
royal assent; every delay threatens mischief, and the 
amendments (so called) in your House may induce new 
difficulties in the House of Lords when it is returned 
to them. Do not suffer its adversaries to carry a single 
point ; if not utterly suppressed they will endeavour to 

rise again, and Mr. already looks forward to 1808, 

for the repeal of this act of 1807. As to Mr. , his 

argument, from the decrease of his own negroes, has in 
it something so, — I know not what to call the hideous 
deformity, — but had I used it, I should feel an extinc- 
tion of hope; I should feel that I was a murderer — 
what, because he has destroyed, does he look for more 
subjects for destruction, and consider this as a reason 
for the supply ! give him his position, and do you draw 
the inference rather than deny it, and I think the man 
that can then abet him is just as bad as he. I like his 
brutality to you ; it can never affect you, while the 
recoil must necessarily stagger himself. I conclude 
the subject, by once more urging you to a tenacious 
adherence to the original form of the bill, as far as is 
practicable, and to the utmost feasible expedition, and 
even to threats against the slavery of the negroes now 
in the West Indies, if your present measure be any far- 
ther resisted. 

When James II. apprised his parliament that he had 
employed papists in the army, and looked for their 
sanction of the measure, instead of authorizing him to 
proceed, they made him an offer to indemnify those that 
had already accepted of commissions ; and why you 
should now" go farther I profess I am unable to discover. 
Are revolutions so desirable, that we wish to put things 
into the situation that provoked the last ? or do w^e sup- 
pose that this is a situation to which, with all our efforts, 
they will not return ? The capacity and bravery of 



23 ' 

papists are a current theme, and let me allow them, but 
who will persuade me to allow their fidelity to a pro- 
testant throne ? The argument drawn from their adhe- 
rence to our ancient kings is answered, by saying that 
these kings did not sit upon a protestant throne. Occa- 
sions do not offer daily, but look to the three or four 
that have occurred in later times, and how few are the 
papists of any consequence, that have not incurred for- 
feitures or experienced mercy. Rebellion and a per- 
petual reference to papal supremacy, openly in ecclesi- 
astical, and though not now acknowledged, yet certainly 
and even necessarily in state matters, have characterized 
their body during the whole of the last century ; and at 
present I profess I see nothing brought forward in their 
behalf but menaces of still more active exertions, pro- 
vided they are not indulged. The frightful rebellion in 
1642 was carried to the recorded extremity in conse- 
quence of Lord Strafford's array of papists in Ireland ; 
and in Ireland we ^re now daily amused by exaggerated 
statements of popish population and power : it is, there- 
fore, our part now to give -leaders to the danger with 
which they thus threaten us ? The men of this descrip- 
tion who on board our ships, or in the field, have acted 
with distinguished bravery during the present war are 
privates, and consequently not men in whom any con- 
fidence was ever reposed ; as brave men, therefore, let 
them be rewarded, but not with commissions to com- 
mand : and so very obvious is this inference, that the 
use of this and similar arguments, (as leading to the 
measure in hand,) amount to almost a demonstration, 
that there is treason at home, as surely as ever there 
was treason at Ulm. Had James been complied with, 
would the acquittal of the seven bishops have been hailed 
with acclamations bythe army at Hounslow ? O that 
we may now find seven bishops to repay the compli- 
ment that was then paid to a protestant bench ! While 
papal supremacy is the object, while it is the very creed, 
what else can toleration mean than establishment ? Per- 
mission to poiver, and that, too, a power which identifies 
itself with the power even of the Almighty, is a flat con* 



24 

tradiction in terms ; if the present claims of popery are 
admitted, all is indeed subverted. We are daily told of 
the superior illumination of our brilliant age ; there is one 
light, however, the light of experience, which w^e ought 
not to extinguish, and which, if we walk by it, w^e shall 
find fully capable of casting into comparative darkness, 
the coxcomb pretensions of our modern candid specula- 
tions. But King William is forgotten : the nature of 
popery is not considered : it is not known, though it 
may be easily discovered, if men would but look : but- 
it is a hard thing that we are in danger of seeing the 
overthrow of our once happy constitution by the union 
of lurking propensity, with vanity and ignorance. 
(Cowardice perhaps may be added to the group.) My 
dearest Wilberforce, I tremble when I think of the pre- 
cipice we stand upon, and that must excuse the impor- 
tunity with which I try to induce your opposition to 
the ruinous measure. I write, too when I have but 
little time. It is not for a community of legal protection 
that they look — they are protected ; it is civil power, 
which they will exercise to the ruin of protestants, and 
destruction of their civil protection. 

I hope Mrs. mends ; she might have learned, 

from her own practice, to- fall without such frightful 
consequences ; remind her from me, of her being rolled, 
on an illumination night, in the mire of Bath. I wish 
her better with all my heart. 

To you, my dear friend, to Mrs. Wilberforce, and all 
you love, I sincei'ely wish every good. 

I am most affectionately yours, 

W. Burgh. 

St. Patrick's day — who opposed the commencing en- 
croachments of Rome ? 

There is in Dublin a handsome equestrian statue of 
King Wilham III., round which it has been always cus- 
tomary for the lord lieutenant, the houses of parliament, 
and all officers of state, &c. to go in procession, on the 
anniversary of the battle of the Boyne. This year this 
ceremony has been omitted by the representative of a 



25 

king bequeathed to these realms by King William, for 
the purpose of maintaining the protestant religion against 
the agents of Rome ; it has been omitted by the repre- 
sentative of William Lord Russel ! ! ! 



REV. T. GISBORNE TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Yoxall Lodge, April 10, 1807. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I really know not that I can suggest to you any 
thing worth reading on either of the topics concerning 
which you call upon me. To begin with the more im- 
portant — the prints. Were the prints engrayed and 
lying before me, I perhaps could say whether the lights 
were tolerably well kept together, and whether the trees 
were like trees, at least English trees ; but as to sug- 
gesting subjects, I can do nothing : and of the features 
of Africa I know nothing beyond the face of a negro, 
except a little of that of a lion. Perhaps the artist may 
choose the allegorical line. In that case, I would sub- 
mit for your judgment " The progress of taming an 
Ourang Outang.'* In the first plate, he may be repre- 
sented as eating a child ; in the second, as wheeling a 
wheelbarrow ; in the third, mending his waistcoat ; in 
the fourth, making punch ; in the fifth, dancing a minuet ; 
in the sixth, installed a Knight of the Garter. If the 
artist determines to proceed in the common-place way 
he must follow common-place items ; beginning with 
scenes of kidnapping and village-burning, and closing 
with peace, and plenty, and religion. 

Aurea nunc, olim sylvestribus horrida dumis. 

He may enliven his scenery with groups of elephants, 
and hippopotami, and camelopards ; and with knots of 
slave-traders hanging themselves in the background. 

So much for pictured civilization. On actual civili- 
zation I have still less to say ; indeed, nothing beyond 
common-place ; for common-place it is to talk in gene- 

VOL. II. 3 



26 

ral terms about setting up schools, sending missionaries, 
and introducing manufactures. Local knowledge must 
come in to show how these generals are to be reduced 
practically into particularities. I hope that you will be 
able to make some good use of -the forts and public 
establishments which we possess along the African coast. 
Cannot these lions' dens be transformed into central 
reservoirs for distributing knowledge, religious as well 
as commercial 1 They seem to meet the demand. Aog 
•rou (frQ. 

I heartily desire every good result, under the Divine 
blessing, from your great meeting* and its decisions. 
Keep your measures simple, and beware of theorizing. 

Kind wishes, &c. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

T. GiSBORNE. 



RIGHT HON. SPENCER PERCEVAL TO A MEMBER OF MR. 
WILBERFORCE'S COMMITTEE. 

Lincoln's Inn Fields, May 21, 1807. 

Dear Sir, 

The above is intended for Wilberforce's election- 
subscription. I have hesitated about sending it before, 
on account of the peculiar situation in which I stand at 
the present moment. But I think it rather hard that, 
because I am Chancellor of the Exchequer, I should be 
deprived of the means which every body else has of 
showing either that he is a friend of W., or a friend to 
the Abolition of the slave trade. At the same time I can 
feel that W. himself may not like that my name should 
appear among the hst of his subscribers, and I must 
therefore beg before you put it down, that you will con- 
sult W. on that point. The only difference will be, that 
you will apply it anonymously, if he disapproves of the 
appearance of my name, (which I think he may do very 
ationally, and therefore certainly without any offence 

* Formation of the African Institution. 



27 

to me,) but if he sees no objection to my name appear- 
ing, I do not think I need feel any, and in that case you 
may put down my name or not, just as you think it will 
best promote Wilberforce's cause, and serve his interest, 
without injuring his character for independence or any 
thing else. I fear his contest will be expensive ; but I 
have no doubt, if his friends do not desert him, that he 
will unquestionably succeed. 

I am, dear Sir, 
Your most obedient, humble servant, 

S. Perceval. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO W. HEY, ESQ. 

Brighton, August 15, 1807. 

My dear Sir, 

From the time of Mr. Sheridan's first announcing 
his Bill* I was on my guard, and I only kept back in the 
earliest stages of the business, because, for various rea- 
sons, too long to be now communicated, I judged that to 
be the course of conduct most likely to insure my ulti- 
mate success. I much doubt whether he was serious in 
meaning to carry the measure through — not but that he 
is Hkely to be more in earnest, more consistent, and 
more persevering (alas !) in such a case as this, than in 
any other. He seems to live on that, to me, melancholy 
distich, "Life is a jest," &c. When he was chatting with 
some of the government about his speech on Irish 
affairs, he justified himself by saying, with his usual 
laugh, "Consider, I have not made one rebelHous speech 
this whole session! I must make one!" Though he 
has had an almost Herculean measure of strength of 
constitution, yet, as his faculties now betray some symp- 
toms of decay, I suspect it will not be long before he 
breaks entirely. Yet, with all his vices and extravagan- 
cies, there is a certain degree of political principle — 

* Mr. Sheridan's Bill was to take the jurisdiction of ale-houses from 
the Middlesex magistrates. Mr. Hey had expressed his fear lest it 
should lead to the destfuction of the authority of magistrates in general. 



28 

but I have dwelt longer than I meant on this motley 
character. * * * * 

Ever yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

B. Wood, January 4, 1808. 

My dear Friend, 

I cannot forbear writing one line to rejoice with 
Mrs. W. on your convalescence : I do it with the less 
regret as it demands no answer. 

I need not, indeed I cannot, say how deeply anxious 
we have been on your account. We were happily re- 
lieved from additional anxiety by the kindness of 
Mrs. H. Thornton, who sent me a daily bulletin from 
the beginning of your illness down to yesterday. I no 
less fervently bless God for your recovery, than I offered 
up my poor prayers while you were ill. 

My favourite Nicole, in a letter to a pious friend of 
that famous penitent the Duchess de Longueville, who 
was given over for ten years, says to her, " While you 
have been dying, one half of the human race have 
actually died," and goes on to prove, by calculation, that 
in twenty years a number equal to the whole stock of 
mankind die. In my own httle way I often think what 
multitudes have perished who were in perfect health 
when I was taken ill a year and a half ago ; — even this 
autumn, beginning with the Duchess of Gloucester, and 
ending with the Dowager Lady Bathurst, I have lost 
seventeen old attached friends ! If I persist in living, at 
this rate I shall very soon have none left. 

By the way, are you much acquainted with Nicole ? 
I wish some of our high professors would read him. 
There is a delicacy in his morals that I have rarely met 
with ; indeed I think in his letters he reigns supreme in 
regard to Us petites morales — subjects too particular and 
minute for sermons or professed treatises : — the domestic 



29 

charities — conquests over temper — prejudices — petty in- 
dulgences — self-love, &c. God Almighty bless you ! 
Yours ever, my dear Friend, 

Most truly, 

H. More. 

Poor Patty has deafness, and a stunning complaint in 
her head, added to her other complaint, but does not 
abate one jot of heart or hope. 

Poor Horace Noel ! 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO CAPTAIN 



London, May 17, 1808. 

My dear Sir, 

When my dear Mrs. W. expresses (as she has 
but too much occasion for doing) her kind regret at 
seeing so little of me, I often reply by asking her what 
she would feel if I were in your profession ? 

I really quite felt for your lady (to whom, when you do 
see her, I beg my kind remembrances by anticipation, if 
you will excuse the Irishism) when I heard that you had 
been called away from her so soon after your marriage. 
Do you remember the instance, amid innumerable 
others which shows the condescending kindness with 
which the Almighty entered into the feelings of His 
creatures, evidenced in the permission granted to the 
Israelites to remain at home with their brides for a 
whole year, and not to join the army till that period was 
expired. . . . . 

May 28. 

When I had written thus far, I was forced to break 
off, and it is literally true, that I have scarcely had a 
minute at my own disposal, or at the service of my 
friends, ever since. We are kept up almost every night 
in the House of Commons till two or three o'clock, 
(sometimes much later,) and my weakly frame renders it 

3* 



30 

necessary for me to borrow or rather steal, (for it is not 
restored again, borrowing, therefore, is a very improper 
phrase,) as much for rest from the following morning as 
has been taken from sleep in the preceding night. And 
then, as this day, (near three o'clock,) from the time of 
my coming out of my bedroom, my house has had an 
incessant succession of visiters till now, when I have 
slipped out to a neighbour's to use my pen, if possible, 
for an hour — even here, however, I have been discovered 
and interrupted. I trouble you with all these egot- 
isms, partly because we naturally mention our griev- 
ances in writing to a friend, and partly because it will 
account for my being so bad a correspondent. Do me 
the justice, however, to believe that you are not forgotten 
by me ; and I heartily wish it may please the Almighty 
to bless you with every comfort, both here and hereafter. 
I must break off, having a multitude of unanswered 
letters beside me. Believe me always, with cordial 
esteem and regard, 

My dear Sir, 

Yours very sincerely, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



CHARLES GRANT, ESQ. TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Russell Square, July 16, 1808. 

My dear Sir, 

I told you of the general import of certain pro- 
ceedings of the Bengal government against the missiona- 
ries in that country, and of the tenor of the papers which 
came home, on that subject. Those papers are now to 
be answered, and the chairman and myself have an ex- 
ceeding difficult task to get the Court and the Board of 
Control to agree to any answer framed on what we 
think proper principles, — that is, admitting the duty of 
introducing Christianity into India, laying down also 
the necessity of discretion in all attempts to that end, 
recognizing the right of the government to interfere 
where the conduct of the missionaries shall appear Hkely 



31 

to hazard the public tranquillity; and, lastly, distin- 
guishing in the proceedings of the Bengal government 
what has been consistent with those principles, and 
what has gone beyond them. We think it of great im- 
portance that the sentiments of the Court should be so 
laid down on those points as to settle the general ques- 
tion concerning missions to the East, and to leave 
nothing open for future discussion but the conduct of 
missionaries in the exercise of an admitted right, and 
the conduct of government towards them. We have 
prepared the draft of a despatch to Bengal on this 
subject ; , but the President of the Board of Control, — to 
whom we have first shown it, wishing to conciliate his 
concurrence, in order the better to deal with the Court, 
— greatly disagrees with us. We understand, however, 
that he means to consult certain members of the Cabinet 
on this subject, and among them Mr. Perceval more 
particularly. I have so little acquaintance with him, 
and am otherwise so delicately circumstanced, that I 
cannot enter into it with him ; but it is of great im- 
portance that he should rightly understand all the 
bearings of it before he gives his opinion. I wish with 
all my heart you were near enough to hear me more at 
large upon it, and to speak to him immediately, for the 
consideration of it will come on soon. As this cannot 
be, I hope you will feel yourself at liberty to write to 
him. The general importance of the subject, the in- 
terest you take in it, and the high probability of its 
soon becoming a theme of public discussion, with the 
leisure you now have, may be sufficient reasons for your 
addressing him upon it. The points most necessary to 
be enforced on his attention appear to me to be these : 
— 1st, that if the m-issionaries are chargeable with the 
imprudence of abusing the deities, prophets, or religion 
of the natives, they should be censured, and all prac- 
tices of that kind restrained ; but, secondly, that under 
colour of preventing such improprieties, all preaching 
should not be forbidden, especially to those Asiatics 
who are already Christians ; Sdly, that in disapproving 
and prohibiting the intemperance and indiscretion of 



32 

the missionaries, and in guarding against the danger 
of any popular feeling on the score of religion, the 
orders be not so given as to indicate hostility to the 
principle of introducing Christianity ; but that, on the 
contrary, 4thly, the duty of imparting the knowledge of 
Christianity to the natives, in such manner and measure 
as may be done without the danger of any political evil, 
be distinctly recognized. 

I could wish that for }^our fuller information you had 
all the papers relating to the subject before you, but 
those from Bengal cannot be sent. The draft we have 
prepared I think may, and if it come to my hands in 
time to-day, I will forward it to you in great confidence. 
In the mean time, I enclose a copy of a short letter, with 
which it was transmitted to Mr. Dundas. 

I hope you, Mrs. W., and all your party, enjoy the 
cool and tranquil retreat of Barham Court. We are 
still toiling here in the midst of weather truly Indian. 
Mrs. Grant and my young people much as usual. The 
aspect of public affairs is wonderfully improved. It is 
the Lord's doing, and I trust for good. I remain ever 

Your very affectionate 

C. Grant. 

P. S. I beg my best respects to Lord Barham. Pray 
return me the copy of the letter to Mr. Dundas. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORClE, ESQ. 

(Docketed by Mr. Wilberforce — " Dear Stephen, his heart, picture of.") 

Serjeants' Inn, July 30, 18U8. 
My dear Wilberforce, 

When you say, " O this bad world," it is not strange 
that folks like me complain ; and yet, on recollection, 
that O is a sigh for what folks like me are not so apt to 
sigh for, " sin." To be honest to myself, however, I do 
grieve for the wickedness of the world, as much as for 



33 

its plagues and troubles, though I fear generally with a 
mixture of bad temper. 

I think it is you who have remarked, " if any man 
doubts the corruption of mankind, let him try to do 
good, and he will soon be convinced," (perhaps it is, let 
him try to he good ; either would be just). I may see 
the nature and sourceis of this corruption in a wrong 
light, but need no proof of its existence. I protest there 
is some temptation to aim at wrong ends, that one may 
find " a nail that will drive," and not labour Hke poor 
Sisyphus, all one's life long. At least one would be 
tempted to haul in the oars, and float with the tide, since 
there is no making way against it. 

And yet, my dear W., all this is wrong, and ungrateful, 
and unmanly, and unchristian. Have we not a gracious 
Master, who reckons not what we offer in His service 
but what we aim at, and with what spirit and views ? 
He does not pay us " by the great," as farmers call 
it (by the piece), and leave us to take all the risk of bad 
yielding, but counts every lift of the flail. Really, " what 
wouldst Thou have me to do ?" is very often, and may 
it always be, my anxiety rather than, " what will come 
of it ?" Bad as man is, God can do all the good in the 
world that He sees fit, with or without our help. He 
does sometimes graciously permit our right endeavours 
to succeed. You have had much of such rewards, and 
even 1 have had some. If we had more, would it be 
so well for us ? Really, if men could always produce 
virtue and happiness among their fellow-creatures pro- 
portionate to their endeavours, the thing would be so 
pleasant that it might justly be said, " You have your 
reward." The Wickeder the world the worse for it, but 
the better perhaps for those who try to mend it, and to 
mend themselves by it. Let us persist, and God will 
give us, one of these days, finer tools and better ma- 
terials. I was in a worse world in the West Indies, 
and God brought me to England. I thought my new 
world here bad, and tried, though faintly, alas ! to get a 
little above it, and God brought me into a better one — 



34 

into the circle of such people as you and your B., and 
my dear S., and Babington, &c. &c. Now I shall not 
be able to mend this world, except in one way, "fungar 
vice cotis" . . . By the way, a hundred observations of 
the ways of Providence in what the world would call 
trifling incidents, but which by their actings on the temper 
and heart are important in the sight of Heaven, have long 
convinced me that in this new system I am a satellite, 
not a primary planet, placed in it more for your sakes 
than my own, though for my own, too, in a subordinate 
degree. It was otherwise in former situations, and I 
am often greatly struck with the feeling of this inverted 
order in the dealings of Providence towards me ; though 
by no means with any sense of discontent ; rather cu- 
riosity and admiration. I reflect on it with an idea 
similar to that of Anthony, who said, I think, that his 
own good genius wras always superior to the genii of 
other men with whom he was conversant, except Octa- 
vius, but in the presence of Octavius's genius his own 
became crest-fallen and subservient. But I must not 
travel you further at present into my invisible system 
and providential discoveries, and will only add I am per- 
fectly serious in this parenthesis. ... I say I shall not 
be able to make your shoulders a jumping board to some- 
thing higher ; but if, by God's blessing, I could go up 
with the class, as the very last, or lowest member of it, 
it will be a great thing indeed, and expecting, as I do, 
nothing higher in this earthly school of ours, I regard 
the present form as the shell. When we burst it, the 
same beneficent Teacher will place us probably in a 
w^orld where, compared to the present, there will be no 
propensity to evil, and yet in my, perhaps, unwarrant- 
able speculations, education will not end here. Higher 
degrees of virtue, purity, wisdom, will still be before (as, 
perhaps in a boundless succession. The conclusion is, 
" I will endeavour with God's help, to struggle against 
sin, inward and outward, in this bad world, more than I 
have ever yet done, with patience and perseverance ; 
and for this, among other reasons, lest I should find 



35 

myself hereafter iii a different nebula from my dear S. 
and you. 

I remain, my dear W., 

Affectionately yours, 

J. Stephen. 

No answer is desired to this. I was in the humour 
for such kind of scribbling, and no other, but do not you 
waste time the same way, I beg. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

East-Bourne, Aug. 2, 1808. 

My dear Friend, 

I cannot resist the impulse I feel to take up my 
pen on the spot, after reading your most interesting 
letter. O thank you, thank you a thousand times ; 
(" friend, dost thou count them ?") I really have not had 
my spirits so elevated since I came to East-Bourne. I 
have attended you all through your shiftings of the scene, 
and your sister Sally also; have been with you to church, 
travelled with you to Weymouth, and rejoiced almost as 
much as you (not near so much as Patty, who really, 
besides other gladdening considerations, has I think some- 
what of a military turn) over the glories of Sergeant 
Hill, (how different from Sergeant Kite !) Could I but 
be affected at the Cheddar feast day ? the twentieth an- 
niversary ! Can it really be ? Then I have been of your 
party with Malthus, &c. But above all, I have sympa- 
thized with you, with him, and with the honest villagers, 
on Young's return to Blagden — Cicero's from banish- 
ment was nothing to it. 

But after giving vent to these first ebullitions, (to take 
my figure from the barrel of brown stout just arrived, 
and for the same reason,) I must leave you for less 
acceptable society. Be assured however that if, as you 
say, you have not for many a day written such a letter, 
so for many a day neither has any letter given so much 
pleasure as yours. But now these frothy joys having 



36 

fumed away, as South would have said, I really come to 
some more solid and substantial pleasure. Your men- 
tion of the schools being now attended by so many of 
the children of those who once were scholars, opens a 
prospect so extensive, and at the same time so delightful, 
that I cannot yet take my eyes from it. So I trust it 
will continue to be for generations yet unborn; and 
that when you and your fellow-labourers are in the 
w^orld of spirits, you will welcome into the blessed 
society troop after troop, in long succession, of those 
who can trace up the work of God in their hearts to 
the ladies at Cheddar, as its spring-head and ultimate 
fountain. 

Poor Addington ! and yet you would mischievously 
check the current of my feelings when in full flow, by 
your kind memorandum, that the fall you were speaking 
of was not Lord S.'s fall from power, but his own fall 
down Lord S.'s stairs. But to be more serious, what a 
resource does Christianity offer to disappointed men, and 
yet offer it in vain ! How merciful and condescending 
is our God 1 willing to take the world's leavings, and to 
accept those who come to Him (if they will but come) 
only when they have no where else to go. But I must 
leave you. As I have gone so far, instead of putting 
down my sheet, as I had intended, to be finished some 
leisure quarter of an hour, I'll send it off as it is, to carry 
the warm impressions of the heart fresh from being 
taken. I have a whole budget full of matter ready for 
you, had I but time — but that grows more and more 
deficient. Farewell, I've told Mrs. W. what a treat I 
have for her after dinner in your letter. I read it inter 
ambulandum by the sea-side. I am ever 

Your affectionate and faithful Friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

CHARLES GRANT ESQ. TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

India House, August 30, 1808. 

My dear Sir, 

I have written to Mr. Cordiner for information 



37 

about the practice of the Dutch government, and of Mr. 
North. We have in this House a question of nearly the 
same nature, respecting the temple of Jaggernaut ; that 
is, the Bengal government had interfered in the appoint- 
ment of its priests and services, but afterwards with- 
drew from the management of its interior affairs, con- 
fining themselves to a tax on pilgrims and regulations 
of police. In answering their proceedings on this sub- 
ject. Parry and I propose to tell them that, on principle, 
it is improper for a Christian government to take upon 
itself any regulation of Heathen worship — any nomi- 
nation of priests or direction of their services. The 
Board of Control will not allow this principle to be 
brought forward, and are, moreover, for justifying the 
tax on pilgrims at Jaggernaut, because the Mharattas 
and Mahomedans levied it. Now they levied it directly 
as a tax for the privilege of resorting to a place of 
sanctity. We say that it is improper for us to levy any 
tax of this nature from heathens, except merely to de- 
fray the charge of the pohce necessary to be maintained 
in the environs of the temple. I know not how the 
matter will end. Mr. Dundas is gone to Scotland. I 
fear Lord Castlereagh will be against us, and also 
Holford. 

I wanted to tell you the denouement of the other 
matter (the answer concerning the missionaries) but 
time failed. We could get no alteration in the last 
draft you saw, except one at the suggestion not of either 
of us but of Mr. Perceval. You will recollect the pas- 
sage, " w^e are far from being averse to the introduction 
of Christianity," &c. — the sentence now stands thus — 
" we are anxious it should be distinctly understood that 
we are from being averse," &c. We entered a minute 
on the occasion. It was not intended to be strong, nor 
to provoke heat or debate ; but I hope it contains what 
is essential, and capable of being turned to account 
hereafter. I enclose it, begging you will return it. 
We had hardly closed this business when a new one ar- 
rived — a complaint from the Bengal government against 
Buchanan, for a memorial he delivered there to Lord 

VOL. II, 4 



38 

Minto. The memorial has the features of Buchanan's 
other pieces — a good deal of truth, ability, indiscretion, 
and offensive language. He is come home, and I have 
told him something of the effect of his writings. 
My dear Sir, 

Ever affectionately yours, 

Charles Grant. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

East-Bourne/Sept. 7, 1808. 

My dear Muncaster, 

I see you know this coast ; that is, all about it 
probably in the state in which it was before it was made 
an iron frontier to resist the attacks of our opposite 
neighbour. Yet, ironed as we are, two or three shabby 
little privateers, who, as far as we know, had not one 
cannon among them, came off the coast about a week 
ago, took four or five vessels close to the land, so near 
that when one was captured even musketry would have 
reached them, and hovered for ten or twelve hours so 
near as would have forfeited them to the Crown under 
the smuggling acts; yet though we have above 1500 
troops, a corps of engineers, a fort that must have cost 
200,000 or £300,000, flying artillery, &c. not the hair 
of the head of a Frenchman was injured, or a feather 
in his wing discomposed. Where there was a cannon 
there was no ammunition, where a favourable situation 
no cannon : the officers were all out of the way, though 
the affair lasted so long ; and as for a ship of war, it 
was a nondescript. I must say I seldom have been more 
provoked, than to have thirty or forty poor fellows car- 
ried into a French gaol, when the shghtest preparation 
for resistance by those who are paid and maintained for 
the sole purpose of resistance, w^ould have prevented all 
the mischief. 

But what a gratifying transition across the Bay of 
Biscay ! Most cordially do I congratulate you, my dear 
Muncaster, on the happy change of affairs in the Spanish 



39 

peninsula, and on the glorious achievements of our brave 
soldiery — to be vainqueur des vainqueurs du monde is a 
high commendation. What cause have we for thank- 
fulness ! I cannot but hope that this humiliation of 
imperial arrogance is meant for some good issue. I am 
pressed for time, but I was strongly prompted by your 
letter, which I have just received, to send you back a 
few lines. Believe me ever, my dear friend, 
Yours most sincerely, 

W» WiLBERFORCE. 



J. BOWDLER, ESQ. JUN. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

25, Lincoln's Inn, Thursday night. 

My dear Mr. Wilberforce, 

Don't think I mean to dun you with letters and 
letterlings; but before you leave Eastbourne and get 
out of my knowledge, I must thank you for the many 
kind things you have said of me at St. Boniface. They 
have travelled round (as such matters generally do) and 
so reached the ear of the person who ought last to hear 
them ; for I must confess I had not firmness enough to 
hear them without delight, and I am afraid, in such a 
case, delight is danger. To be sure, I ought to bow, 
and smile, and excuse myself, and — 

" Your friendship, sir, your judgment wronging, 
With praises not to me belonging," &c. 

But instead of this pretty coquetry, which only betrays 
the vanity it would conceal, may I in real simpleness 
and sincerity of heart request you at once, to increase 
my obligation for the favour received, and prevent its 
proving hurtful by conferring another. You will guess 
what I mean to ask — it is no common thing, and what 
no common friend ever does — to be told of my faults. 
I know you would do this without asking, in case of a 
great offence ; but there are a multitude of lesser errors 
and defects that retard a growth in holiness, and dimi- 
nish the means of usefulness, which we too generally 



40 

overlook in ourselves, and seldom endeavour to correct 
in our friends. To say that I am conscious of falling 
continually into these (would I might say only these !) is 
very common-place humility, but it is true; I have often 
lamented that so few are wiUing even to " hint a fault ;" 
and if you will sometimes perform this most friendly 
office, believe me, whatever may be my unwillingness 
to improve, I shall at least be grateful for the correction. 

How strange and how melancholy it is that we cannot 
realize, even in a qualified degree, the delightful visions 
that the imagination so readily bodies forth? When 
one thinks of a circle of Christians united by mutual 
affection, animated by the same motives, pressing towards 
the same object, servants of the same Lord, children of 
the same Father, we can scarce force from our minds, 
the idea of the most intimate and endearing communion 
among them, with perfect openness and confidence. It 
seems of course that each should be wakefully alive to 
the imperfections of others as well as to his own, and 
all grow rich by the bounty of all ; a bounty which is 
twice blessed. But in this sad world — it is needless to 
shade the picture — there are so few who really like to 
be told their faults, that nobody cares to do it ; the busi- 
ness is so bad that it is gone quite to decay. Do you re- 
member Felicia and Floretta in the Rambler? bosom 
friends from their youth, till one unhappy day, Felicia 
said, " My dear Floretta, don't dance next birth-night, 
you were not successful last year." " Thanks, dearest 
Felicia, — friendship — sincerity," &c. : but her turn came 
next : " My dear Felicia, you have one little foible — your 
voice is weak, and you really should not attempt to sing." 
What could be so kind, and who so grateful as Felicia ? 
but adieu to affection. All this is against myself, and, 
perhaps, I should prove like others, yet 1 would fain try 
the experiment ; I think I could bear reproofs from you, 
as the veriest cur will take a whipping contentedly from 
a hand he loves. 

I have lately read " Zeal without Innovation," and 
should like exceedingly to know what you think of it. 
To me it seems to contain a great deal of very valuable 



41 

and origiual truth; I read it with great pleasure, and 
hope it will do much good. Yet I own I was not quite 
satisfied. The style is at times so defective, that no 
sense of the importance of the matter can make me 
quite unobservant of the manner. Sometimes the author 
labours to write well, and then, like the witling in the 
" Rape of the Lock," he " dies in metaphor." Some- 
times he is so slovenly, that a school-boy would have 
been flogged for it. And, which is very unaccountable 
in a man who possesses so very just and clear an un- 
derstanding, the expressions are continually so obscure, 
and indeed so inaccurate, that the idea is not brought forth ; 
one sees what he means to say, but the thought seems 
to perish in the birth ; and this too frequently where it 
appears quite inexplicable how he should have missed 
the right words. I am afraid these defects of manner 
will prevent the work from being read as widely and 
admired as much as it deserves; for in these days 
of luxury in every thing, neither gods, men, nor book- 
sellers will endure a bad style. I own, too, (though it 
argues some presumption in me to judge a writer of so 
superior an understanding) that I am a little displeased 
with parts of the work even in their substance ; parti- 
cularly with the chapter on the faults of evangehcal 
preachers. What he says may be true ; I fear it is true 
of some among them ; yet surely it is said rather too 
passionately and without sufficient discrimination. It is 
somewhat unfair to incorporate men, and then seizing 
on particular blemishes, affix a bad character to the 
body. Let men be judged either collectively or singly ; 
if singly, none can complain ; but if collectively, the ut- 
most you can reasonably claim is to be allowed to state 
an average; and I cannot but think the evangelical body 
would have no reason to fear such a trial. But nothing 
can be less equitable than to incorporate men for one 
purpose and then analyse the body for another, the 
censor having it in his own choice to consider them 
either separately or collectively. There is too, I think, 
a sligJit tendency to another fault, so serious and so com- 
mon that even an approach to it is alarming. Is not re- 

4* 



42 

ligion a little too much represented as a matter princi- 
pally of temporal importance ? One hears so much 
among the common order of preachers about the benefits 
of Christianity to society, and how it binds men together 
in a firm compact of confidence, advances the dignity 
of a nation, &c., and among the high churchmen, of our 
venerable establishment and the necessity of due sub- 
ordination, the alliance betv^^een Church and State, and 
that ever beloved thirteenth chapter of the Romans, 
that one, perhaps, is apt to be a little over-jealous of 
the true dignity of religion — the blessed seraph that 
resides 

" Above the smoke and stir of this dim spot 
That men call earth ; and wich low-thoughted care 
Strive to keep up a frail and feverish being. 
Unmindful of the crown that virtue gives 
After this mortal change." 

But I am ashamed of having said so much in depre- 
ciation of a work entitled to very high praise. I trust 
and believe that it will diffuse a great deal of valuable 
knowledge, and thereby tend to soften the bitterness of 
controversy. The Bishop of London, I hear, says he 
could subscribe to every word of the work, and my Bath 
aunt has " no w^ords to express her admiration of the 
head and heart of the author." Adieu ! this is at least 
no letterling, and looks like a begging epistle. Yet I 
really do not expect or wish for a reply unless you hap- 
pen to have a very idle interval. Believe me, with real 
affection, your obliged servant and friend, 

J. BowDLER, Jun. 

I am afraid my uncle will think you a dangerous 
visiter at St. Boniface, for you have got possession of my 
aunt's heart. I believe she is a very pious woman. 



43 
WM. HAYLEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

September 14, 1808. 

My dear Sir, 

Had I the wand of a magician I should be 
tempted to transport you, and your fair temple of do- 
mestic felicity, with all its six delightful columns, flying 
through the air into my little garden ; but not having 
any magical powers, I must content myself with ex- 
pressing my regard for you, by a mere compliance with 
your friendly request, of sending you that epitaph on 
our favourite Cowper to which I had alluded. I have 
hitherto kept it in privacy, though it was honoured with 
commendation by two friends of mine, of very powerful 
though of very different minds — the bishop of Llandaff 
and the late Lord Thurlow ! With the latter I had a 
curious correspondence concerning epitaphs on Cowper. 
His lordship tried to compose one himself for his early 
associate, but he did not succeed in forming an entire 
epitaph, though he produced a few good lines, blended 
with others of an opposite character. 

He always indulged me in the privilege (of which I 
am very tenacious,) " fari quce sentiamr and I never 
flattered his politics or his poetry, though I was often 
charmed with the energy of his intellectual and collo- 
quial powers : but I am giving you too long a preface 
to a brief composition. 

Accept the following, with the cordial benediction of 
your sincere and affectionate 

Hermit. 



REV. MR. STOREY TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Colchester, December 19, 1808. 

Dear Sir, 

Your kind note, enclosed in Mrs. W.'s letter, 
demands my grateful and early acknowledgments ; and 
your Tenewed attention to the subject entered upon at 
Clapham, and the delicate manner in which you have 



44 

introduced it, invites my confidence, and encourages me 
to write without reserve. 

Your annual ten pounds has been chiefly expended in 
continuing the little school for girls, which your late dear 
aunt* set on foot near twenty-five years ago, and the 
same mistress or teacher is still living: what remains 
has gone to assist the poor. 

To your inquiry, of what has been done from another 
quarter, I must return such an answer as will probably 

surprise you. Mr. wrote me a long letter with 

many apologies, saying he could not afford it, and that 
he was obliged to withhold his usual donations to the 
poor of various other places, &c. &c. I was grieved at 
all this, and knew how sadly many would suffer in va- 
rious ways, and could not account for the defalcation ; 
but when I read in the papers of " splendid break- 
fasts," &c. I said to myself, " surely my friend will find 
a bank-note for the poor, and no longer plead the want 
of money ;" and impressed with a sense of the incon- 
sistency, I ventured to quote a pious saying of an old 
and valued friend : " If I do not give more, God will 
take more away." It grieved me not a little that I 
should have occasion for such a quotation. 

You know, perhaps, that I entered upon my labours 
here, under the kind and affectionate patronage of Mr. 
J. Thornton, who treated me with almost parental 'con- 
sideration, saying to this effect, — " by receiving such 
company as may wish to come about you, your expenses 
may rather exceed your income, but never mind that ; 
tell me how you stand at the year's end, and I will help 
you out." This was a most liberal offer, intended to free 
us from all undue anxiety, of which I never intended to 
avail myself. But coming down to Colchester the next 
summer, he asked me what we owed ; on replying, very 
little, he put a red leather purse into my hands, with 
twenty guineas, and said, if you want more you shall 
have it. I replied with tears of gratitude " it is enough." 
Seeing me delicate in my health, and wanting exercise, 

* Sister of John Thornton, Esq. 



45 

he afterwards sent me a horse, and now and then 
inclosed me ten pounds to help to keep it. His son, our 
M. P., hkewise gave me a horse which I now ride. 
After all the affection and tenderness which I expe- 
rienced, you will not wonder that the memory of J. 
Thornton has long been dear to me, and I feel a tender 
interest in all that concerns the health and comfort of 
his grandson, and rejoice that he bids fair to tread in his 
grandfather's steps. * * * * # 



MRS. H. MORE TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, January 4, 1809. 

My dear Friend, 

Having been long in the expectation of hearing 
of your arrival at Bath, I had some faint hope that we 
might have caught a ghmpse of you here. The weather, 
however, has proved such, that I most disinterestedly 
rejoice in knowing that you are safe at home. With my 
best love, I congratulate Mrs. W. on the alliance with 
Mr. Neale, whom I have known and loved ever since 
he was two years old, though I have now lost sight of 
him by my total seclusion. 

I hope you like your new habitation. I hear it is 
handsome and comfortable. 

Has Hatchard sent you " Coelebs ?" It was lying at 
Bath for you. The author had hoped completely to es- 
cape detection ; had neither confidents, counsellors, or 
critics ; of course there are many incorrectnesses. Many 
people write to me to say they are sure it is mine. 
H. Thornton assures me it is not ; that the author is 
a clergyman of his acquaintance. Harry, however, is 
mistaken. " Coelebs" is mine ; hastily (much too has- 
tily) written to amuse the languor of disease. That it 
will do good I am not sanguine ; that I wished to intro- 
duce principles into the Circulating Library, which, 
though quite common-place to the religious, are new 
to the novel reader, is certain. I know not how it takes 
in London, for my earnest desire of concealment pre- 



46 

vents my making inquiries. I shall be glad to know 
you do not quite condemn, it. By this post, I avow it 
to Henry only. I desired him to tell you, but think it 
more friendly to tell you myself, though I am in so 
much pain I hardly knov^ what I say : I am afraid the 
sufferings of the body will be seen in the decays of 
mind in my book. For the last month I have been 
worse than usual, and when I get an interval of ease in 
my stomach, I have pains in my teeth and face which 
almost make me frantic. This has attended my whole 
illness — now near three 5tears. 

I hope all your young ones are thriving. How do 
you yourself stand this polar winter ? Neither P, or I 
have been outside the door since September : she has 
been very bad. 

I have great delight in Paley's sermons. To me 
he was clearly a converted man. It was pleasing to 
see the principles of real rehgion worked out with his 
pellucid clearness, and almost without the terms usually 
employed by older Christians. How I rejoice in these 
sermons for his own soul's sake ! There is so much 
humihty, too, and self-distrust — so unlike his natural 
character. 

We are wild about Spain ! I should be more confi- 
dent of success, did not the Inquisition and Mexico hang 
over the cause. What a moment is the present ! God 
bless you all ! 

Yours, 

H. M. 



RIGHT HON. SPENCER PERCEVAL TO WILLIAM 
WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Downing Street, May 5, 1809. 

Dear Wilberforce, 

I am sorry I cannot encourage you to hope for a 
favourable answer on the subject of your shopkeepers. 
I shall, however, be glad to see you on Monday, between 
one and two. > 



47 

It was mentioned to me last night by a person in 
the House of Commons, that he thought you had seen 
the names of the places in which my corrupt practices, 
through Wellesley's agency, are to be attempted to 
be charged : if without any breach of confidence you 
could let me know them, it would at least narrow the 
field in which I am to hunt for my game ; for of course 
you will easily imagine, that I shall be desirous of anti- 
cipating as well as I can, for the purpose of preparation 
for the day of charge, the nature and quality of the 
oflfences for which I am to answer. Corrupt practices 
comprehend in different minds so many different shades 
of practice, from direct bribery down to almost the civil 
expression of the wish of a minister for a man's success, 
that it is not easy to have a notion of what I am to 
expect, especially as the more or less of caution with 
which a secretary of the Treasury may have written 
his letter, or mentioned one's name, may give the cha- 
racter and colour to a transaction which may be under 
parliamentary inquiry. And although I certainly am 
not conscious of having done, in respect of any seat 
in parHament, anyone thing which I should have a hesi- 
tation to declare to you in private, at the risk of all that 
is valuable to me in your good opinion, yet I cannot 
say that I feel at ease, either with regard to myself or 
to the public, at the idea that the secretary of the Trea- 
sury, who has acted confidentially under me, should be 
put to the torture of an examination before a committee 
of the House of Commons, to disclose all the circum- 
stances which he . . either by direct or implied authority 
from the minister under whom he acted . . may have 
done, upon which parliament may animadvert, or by 
which the public may be excited. 

I am, dear Wilberforce, 

Yours very truly, 
Spencer Perceval. 

I shall direct the messenger to wait for an answer to 
that part of the letter which applies to the names of the 
places. 



48 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD SIDMOUTH. 

Nev/ Palace Yard Hotel, May 26, 1809. 

My dear Lord S. 

I wrote part of a letter to you some time ago, 
and had I not gone out of town during the recess to 
see my eldest boy, who is with a clergyman in Oxford- 
shire, I should have travelled to pay my respects to you. 
I really feel worse than uncivil in never having knocked 
at your door, but yet I can truly say that the omission 
has in no degree arisen from any unfriendly cause, but 
that you and yours have been often in my mind, and 
that I have inquired about you from time to time of 
common friends, with the interest of real regard. But 
my health is not so strong as it used to be, while my 
business is full as great as ever ; so that I am forced to 
beg a vote of credit from all my friends, for the omis- 
sion of the ordinary attentions. 

I was going yesterday again to take up my pen to 
finish my long neglected letter, when it occurred to me 
that you might possibly be disengaged on Monday next, 
when we have a hoHday, and would do me the favour 
of dining with me at Kensington Gore about five o'clock. 
You would meet Lord Teignmouth and the Bishop of 
Salisbury, who is an old friend of mine. I know you do 
not wish to be treated like a great man, or I should not 
write to you thus freely. I really should be glad to have 
some conversation with you on public affairs, which are 
in a very comfortless state, I fear. I wish, also, to men- 
tion to you, that my friend Gisborne will come to town 
(to me, I mean) in about a fortnight ; and that if you 
would like to know him, I should be very happy to be 
the instrument of bringing you together. I don't know 
whether you have heard that the Bishop of Durham 
offered him a prebend of Durham the other day, which 
he refused, I own, to my regret. 

I beg you will not trouble yourself to write me an 
answer ; but as you ride, and my house at Kensington 
Gore is close to the park, you can perhaps look in upon 



49 

me some day in your equitation, I will thank you for 
a single word verbally, or in writing, to the New Palace 
Yard Hotel or Kensington Gore, to say if you will dine 
with me. 

I am ever, my dear Lord S. 

Very sincerely yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



MR. PARKER TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed, " Mr. Parker, freeholder — good natured whimsical letter.") 

Doctors' Commons, June 1, 1809. 

Sir, 

The late Dr. Laurence having heard that I had 
a vote for the county of York, made a very special ap- 
plication to me, on the 2d of June, 1807, to go down to 
York to vote for Lord Milton ; and said that, if I would 
consent to go, a carriage should be provided, and my 
expenses paid ; to which I replied, that I had promised 
several friends in the Bank, that if I should go to York 
I would give you a vote. The learned doctor then said, 
that should not make any difference if I would go, as 
you were then so much ahead of Mr. Lascelles, that your 
election was secure. Accordingly, I went on the third 
and fourth, and on the fifth voted for you and Lord 
Milton : having done so. Lord Milton's committee told 
me, that as I had given you a vote, they could not pro- 
vide a carriage for me, or pay my expenses back ; that 
if I could not pay my own expenses back, I must apply to 
your committee : I mentioned it to one of them, but de- 
clined making any application for expenses. Carriages 
being at that time very scarce, I bought a horse, and 
had a very pleasant ride home, by way of Lancaster, 
Liverpool, Stafford, Warwick, and Buckingham. 

On my return, I told the doctor that he had played a 
very pretty election trick upon me: he laughed heartily, 
saying, he hoped the ride would be serviceable to me in 
my health ; and I really think he was right, therefore I 

VOL. II. 5 



60 

do not complain ; but I told him I would take opportu- 
nities to acquaint both you and Lord Milton thereof. - 1 
have written Lord Milton to this effect, and now having 
written so much to you, I have kept my word with the 
doctor, which I always make a point of doing. Now, 
all I ask of you is, that you will have the goodness, any 
open day, to free the enclosed to my tenant on the es- 
tate, for which I gave you and Lord Milton each a vote: 
it is one of the small and most western estates on the 
border of the county, in the parish of Slaidburn, and 
within fourteen miles of Lancaster, and hath been in my 
late father's family above seventy years. 

I beg leave to wish you health to enjoy your seat, and 
that you and Lord Milton may be returned to parlia- 
ment, at every succeeding election without a contest, 
and am. Sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

R. Parker. 

P. S. Should you oblige me herein, I hope you will 
let a servant send it to the post any day next week, or 
the following week will answer my purpose. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE HON. JOHN JAY.* 

East Bourne, Sussex, August 1, 1809. 

My dear Sir, 

Though so many years have passed since we 
saw or heard from each other, I hope I do not deceive 
myself when I presume that we continue to retain each 
other in friendly remembrance, not without taking an 
interest in each other's well being. Such, at least, I 
can truly declare are my own sentiments and feelings. in 
jelation to you; and embracing every opportunity of 
inquiring after you, I heard with sincere pleasure the 
other day, from an American acquaintance, that you 
were living in health and comfort, though retired from 
public life. But why do I say, though retired, when I 

* Formerly American Ambassador in England. 



51 

can most sincerely aver, that with a view to health and 
comfort, and those of mind as w^ell as of body, no situa- 
tion in life has ever presented itself to my imagination 
under so hopeful a form as that which my favourite 
poet describes as 

" Domestic life in rural pleasure passed." 

I forget whether you are a lover of poetry ; if you were 
so when you were young, I think that even in advanced 
life, the author of the above line, Cowper, will still be 
dear to you. His piety gives unfading charms to his 
compositions. 

But I am in danger of expending all the time for 
which I must venture to detain you, without pro- 
ceeding to the business which gives me occasion — an. 
occasion which, I own, I am glad to seize — ta address 
you after so long a silence. I am aware, indeed, that^ 
your retirement may prevent your taking any part 
in public life, even in the case I am about to mention ; 
still your opinion, your good wishes, may be useful to 
us. Since the Abolition of the slave-trade, an institu- 
tion has been formed, consisting of a considerable num- 
ber of the most respectable members of both houses of 
parliament, as well as of other men of consideration 
and worth, with the Duke of Gloucester at our head, 
for the purpose of promoting civilization and improve- 
ment in Africa. Of course, all our hopes are grounded 
and bottomed in the cessation of the slave-trade. Now, 
from the operation of the war and of other causes, 
this traffic is stopped, with a very trifling exception, 
which though trifling, we are trying, and that success- 
fully, to do away throughout all that immense part of 
the continent of Africa which is north of the Line, and 
indeed much farther ; unless, as it may be carried on 
by your countrymen and our own, in direct violation of 
the laws of both countries. We trust we shall be able, 
by sending ships of war to scour the coast of Africa, to 
suppress the British slave-trade ; but this will be of 
little avail, if the traffic may still be carried on in fact, 
though prohibited bylaw, by the American slave-trader; 



52 

nor do I see any prospect of preventing this abuse, 
unless a convention could be made between the two 
countries, by which the ships of war of each should 
be authorized, and even encouraged (by the hopes of 
gaining by the forfeitures,) to seize and bring in for 
adjudication the vessels of the other, when prosecuting 
this unlawful commerce. I rather believe there is 
another particular, in which it still remains for your 
country to render its law similar to ours, by subjecting 
to forfeiture any slave-ship of any country, and under 
any flag, which is fitted out in and cleared out from an 
American port. Now, my dear sir, may I hope for your 
assistance towards the production of the effects I have 
specified ? Knowing to whom I am writing, I will say 
no more on this head. 

I cannot address you without tracing my way to the 
period when we were last together, through the long and 
interesting interval which lies between that and the 
present moment. What events have since happened! 
What events may take place in the same number of years 
yet to come ! How many whom we loved have gone in 
the last thirteen years 1 How many will go in the next ! 
How strongly, my dear Sir, are we admonished to place 
our happiness on a firmer and more secure basis than it 
can enjoy in this world, which never more than of late 
verified the character given of it by one of our greatest 
and best churchmen. Hooker, that it is full (made up, 
I think he says) of perturbations. How astonishing is 
it to see men of penetrating understandings, and of deep 
and large views, confining their regards to this limited 
scene, apparently insensible to the existence of any thing 
beyond it ! But I beg pardon for thus running on, and 
I stop before my pen has got the mastery of me. I will 
detain you no longer than while I express my hopes that 
you are well and happy, and assure you that I shall 
never cease to take an interest in your welfare. 

1 remain, with respect and regard, my dear Sir, 
Your obliged humble servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



53 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

East Bourne, August 17, 1809. 

My dear Muncaster, 

It seems quite barbarous to suffer your affec- 
tionate heart to remain distressed with one painful 
apprehension about me and mine, and therefore, though 
in a shocking state as to arrears of business, with a hst 
of unanswered letters as long as my arm, &c., I must 
send you a few lines of friendly remembrance and salu- 
tation. We have been at the sea houses all along. I 
was not aware that you knew East Bourne ; when can 
you have been here ? It is a vastly preferable place to 
Brighton, unless you take in our want of royalty, — a 
want, however, which I can bear with patience. I thank 
God, Mrs. W. has profited from our residence here, 
though not so much as if she had not, from an idea that 
her children would profit more from her own immediate 
cognisance, left her governess behind. Really I knew 
not how much noise six young children can make 
in a small house, till we were all boxed up under this 
roof. 

I congratulate you on the Spanish victory. Does the 
Almighty mean to pull down the image he has set up ? 
I have always expected that Buonaparte would, some 
time or other, be put to confusion by means deemed 
beforehand very disproportionate to his strength; and 
that perhaps when at the very climax of his greatness. 
As for this Austrian war, I don't much relish it. It is 
so short a time since the ascendancy of the French arms 
was so complete, as to make the heart of every Austrian 
soldier . . . the fault probably of the commanders, or 
at least the officers more than of the men . . . sink 
within him on the very sight of a French battalion. 

Did you see the account of my colleague's great 
dinner in the newspapers, and a standing committee 
formed for the preservation of the Whig interest in 
Yorkshire, especially for insuring its triumph in all 
elections 1 It is really curious to see these people such 

ardent patriots, (only because they were turned out of 

5# 



54 

office,) that such fellows as we, who never had any con- 
nection with office, are treated as a set of place-hunting 
ragamuffins. I must break offi How time does fly 
away at these places. Visiters are fewer, however, than 
common. Two very different M. P's here, Lord Temple 
and Davies Giddy. With kind remembrances, in which 
Mrs. W. joins, 

I am ever yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A FRIEND. 

Near Newport Pagnel, August, 1809. 
My dear Sir, 

I really was not aware that I was your epistolary 
debtor, but in truth I have been for eight weeks past 
doing little else than paying off a heavy arrear of let- 
ters. By the way, this great correspondence has been 
for some time, I had almost said, the sole business of my 
life. Its size does not arise so much from my having 
been for many years member for Yorkshire — though 
that circumstance must doubtless have some effect — 
but it proceeds from my having been for near thirty 
years in public hfe, with the character of not turning a 
deaf ear to those who state their several sufferings. 
From whatever cause, however, it proceeds, the effect 
has become a standing grievance to me, and I have been 
thinking how to correct it. My friends, according to 
their different tempers, prescribe different remedies. 
My spirited and excellent brother, Mr. Stephen, says, 
" Never answer them." But I cannot bring myself to 
think that this would be consistent with the courtesy 
and kindness of Christian demeanour. Henry Thorn- 
ton, who you know is all over Adam Smith (with one 
grand exception happily) advises me to assign a certain 
specified time daily to this employment. But this, 
without reference to the quantity I have to write, and 
to my being sometimes so entirely engrossed otherwise 
for days together, is to apply a standing measure to a 



55 

line varying in all degrees from a point to a line almost 
illimitable. In writing to a friend, we naturally speak of 
ourselves, which must be my apology for this discussion. 
Almost as soon as the House rose, I went with my family 
to East Bourne, where we continued for six weeks ; and 
after spending about a week with our friend Henry 
Thornton, we came to the village whence I now write 
to you. 

My Irish friend Knox, of whom you must, I think, 
have heard me speak, passed two days with us at Batter- 
sea Rise, with a reverend fellow traveller of his, Mr. 
Jebb, who has a non-cure in the diocese of Cashel — a 
man of superior sense, acquirements, and piety. Knox 
is a wonderful creature, and so eloquent, that you 
scarcely know how to refuse your assent to the strangest 
propositions which he pours forth most copiously. His 
opinions concerning the Roman Catholics you must, I 
think, have heard me mention. He declares, that he 
would not wish to convert them, and would by no means 
attempt it: that the true policy is to quiet them, (how is 
this to be effected ?) and then to grant them all they de- 
sire ; when after a time improving, as he says they have 
been, and drawing, as the better disposed of them are, 
towards the Church of England, he expects that they will 
come over to our church in a body, and be an acquisi- 
tion of immense value. The opinion he entertains con- 
cerning them, seems to have been produced by his 
having accustomed himself so much to read the best of 
their writers — his turn of habits at the same time, and 
even his health, favouring a contemplative quietist sort 
of life, so that he is become very much of a Fr^re Port 
Royal. 

I hope Mrs. 's health is improved. This winter- 
like summer cannot suit her. For myself I felt a good 
deal shattered when I got quietly to East Bourne ; but 
living regularly there for several weeks benefited me 
greatly. Here we seem likely to enjoy more quiet than 
almost any place we were ever at. 

With kindest remembrances, my dear Sir, 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



56 

W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD SIDMOUTH, 

Near Newport, Pagnel, August 26, 1809, 

My dear Lord Sidmouth, 

I have for some time been meditating a letter to 
Richmond Park, indeed, ever since I received a mark of 
your friendly remembrance, which, like every other such 
mark, gave me real pleasure. Perhaps I should have 
taken up my pen sooner, were it not that, whenever I 
have thought of actually setting about to write to you, 
such a spacious field, and so crowded with objects, and 
need I say, of no inviting or cheering colour, has pre- 
sented itself to my mental view, as to deter me from 
carrying my design into execution : and I have now 
brought myself to persevere, by saying to myself, that I 
would not close with topics, the nearer you approach 
to which, the more dark, and difficult, and deformed 
they appear. Of your speech, I can tell you truly, that 
I think it breathes the spirit of true patriotism ; and I 
will frankly confess also, that till I read it, the truths 
which it states had not made a sufficiently deep impres- 
sion on my mind. Let this effect be general, and your 
end both in speaking and printing is answered. 

I wish I could be alongside of you for a day or two ; 
in the tete-tt-tetes such a situation would insufe, we 
might open respectively our whole hearts, and heavy 
hearts I fear they would be. For myself I must say, 
never was I so deeply impressed with a persuasion of 
our country's danger, and therefore never before driven 
so much by the insecurity of all earthly possessions, to 
seek for that surer inheritance, that more substantial 
happiness, which is represented to us under the figure of 
a city which hath foundations, thus most forcibly inti- 
mating the baseless nature of the fabrics of this perishing 
world. Our true policy must doubtless be, to adopt that 
system which, as you justly suggest, our sagacious enemy, 
as well as ourselves, may clearly see we shall be able to 
continue, humanly speaking, interminably. This is what 
your logicians term, if you will allow a Cambridge man 
ever to talk of logic, genus generalissimum. It must be 



57 

followed into its various ramifications, in order to direct 
us to the right conclusions, concerning both the nature 
and amount of our naval and mihtary force, of our 
financial and mihtary operations. 

Do you know, if I were with you again, I should 
probably, partly by look, partly by word of mouth, have 
hinted to you, that you might once more come into office. 
I am not in the secrets of any of the present ministry, 
but I must say (and surely if I have no judgment 
in these cases, it is not for want of experience, and 
that under circumstances pecuharly well calculated to 
render experience available), I see many reasons why 
the present government must wish for your aid, and 
I see no reasons, none, I mean, of a public nature, 
and only one of any kind at all, why you should not 
be disposed to bestow it. I say this only, that if you 
should find yourself at any time balancing opposite 
considerations, with a view to the decision of the prac- 
tical question 1 am alluding to, my opinion, be it worth 
ever so little, may be cast into the right scale. Unless 
the other have in its weights of which I know and sus- 
pect nothing, or the balance itself be untrue, I cannot 
doubt but that my scale will preponderate. Whether in 
place or out of it, my dear Lord S., my best wishes will 
attend you. Before I say farewell, three words, de re 
domesticd, I hope you are yourself better than you were 
in the spring, and that Lady S. and your young ones 
are all well; with that exception, which I need scarcely 
say is never out of my mind, when I name or think of 
your family. I thank God we are all well : after having 
been for six weeks at East Bourne, we are living in a 
house which a friend, who tried in vain to hire one for 
me, has kindly lent me. I am very near the haunts of 
my prime favourite, Cowper. Once more, my dear Lord 
S., believe me ever. 

With cordial esteem and regard. 

Most sincerely yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



58 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. 

(On the detection and seizure of a slave ship by Mr. Macaulay.) 

Near Newport Pagnel, October 19, 1809. 

My dear Macaulay, 

I am in the state of .a full charged bottle of elec- 
trical fluid, which wants some conductor to empty itself 
by. Mrs. W. indeed takes her part in my joy, but I 
want you, or Stephen, or Babington, or H. Thornton. 
You really deserve a statue. But more serious and 
sober matter for rejoicing remains, after the first riotous 
effervescence has, or rather shall have, fumed away, for 
this is far from being yet the case with me; and with as 
much sobriety as I can, I compose myself into a grateful 
acknowledgment of the goodness of Providence, in bless- 
ing your endeavours with success. It may be useful to 
put down exactly the whole story, from the first faint 
and distant view you had of the thief with scarcely light 
sufficient to ascertain his substance and features, till this 
moment, when he is dragged into open day in all his 
deformity. I am the more glad on account of the effect 
likely to be produced on the mind of Perceval and his 
Secretary. 

I trust no further difficulties will occur. I should Hke 
to see Stephen's face when he first hears of the seizure. 
Farewell. With kind regards to, Mrs. M., 

I am, 
Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO HENRY BANKES, ESQ. 

Near Newport Pagnel, Oct. 3, 1809. 
My dear Bankes, 

I was quite vexed at myself yesterday, for 
having forgot, if you had seen the same account of 
the duel between Lord Castlereagh and Canning which 



59 

Ihad, to call upon you to laugh with me on one circum- 
stance ; indeed it is actually true, that when I had read 
the paragraph I thought of cutting it out and transmit- 
ting it to you, lest your paper should be less just to the 
party concerned. The particular to which I allude, and 

which made me laugh heartily, was that of Lord 's 

having picked up and carried off one of the pistols, 
which one of the parties threw away after having fired 
it, and his gardener the other (like master like man.) I 
was so forcibly reminded of your successful baiting for 
Sir W. Pulteney, that you naturally were entitled to 
a share of my amusement. But you perhaps have 
not heard as much as I had done of the noble Earl's 
provident parsimony, which indeed went beyond parsi- 
mony, for it not only made him take care of what was 
his own, but keep a sharp look-out for that which was 
another's. If this be so, the trait would not delight you 
as much as it did me. 

By the way, my newspaper to-day states so posi- 
tively that I know not how to doubt its being right, that 
the duel arose from Canning's having, unknown to Lord 
Castlereagh, obtained the Duke of Portland's promise, 
to ask the King to remove him, and having sat with 
him in Cabinet several months en ami, without letting 
Lord C, know his intentions. I must say, if this be true, 
as stated, it was monstrous ill usage, and a course of 
conduct which I can scarcely see how any thing would 
justify, though I would keep my mind open, till I should 
have heard what Canning could say in his vindication. 
Tell me what you know, as far as you are at liberty. 
Of course I will observe any injunctions of secrecy you 
may impose. With kind remembrances, I am, my 
dear B. 

Yours ever, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



60 

RT. HON. SPENCER PERCEVAL TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

[Docketed, " Pri. — Perceval about my letter to Mr. Jerraant. — Ans. 
Utterly groundless. I only sig^ned, never read letter, but afterwards 
frankly told him wherein uncivilly — perhaps unkindly treated, &c."] 

Downing Street, Novenaber 8, 1809. 
Dear Wilberforce, 

I have received a letter from Mr. George Jermant, 
desiring me to procure for a young friend of his a com- 
mission in the marines. He says in his letter, " I wrote 
to Mr. Wilberforce, M^ho in a letter from the neighbour- 
hood of Newport Pagnel, just received, says, that cir- 
cumstances which he will explain when we meet, renders 
it improper for him to make the application now," with 
a dash under him and now. I am well aware of your 
disinclination to make applications to any ministers ; 
I therefore should not have been surprised to have found 
you had refused making such an application either now 
or at any time ; but 1 think you will enter into my feel- 
ings when I say, that I am by no means easy at finding 
that there is something at the present moment that 
makes it improper for you to make the application. I 
do really believe that if such a feeling had come across 
you with regard to me, you would have taken the 
same means, I hope at least you would, of ascertaining 
whether any thing had unintentionally passed from you 
to me, as I now do of learning whether any thing has 
unintentionally passed (as I can assure you most solemnly 
must have been the case, if it has passed at all) from 
me to you, which has given you any offence. Pray let 
rne know, with your usual frankness, if it has, and I 
trust, I shall be able to satisfy you that your impression 
has proceeded either from mistake on your part, or in- 
advertence on mine. 

I am, dear Wilberforce, 

Yours very truly, 

S. Perceval. 



61 

JOHN JAY, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bedford, 8th November, 1809. 

Dear Sir, 

On the 28th ult. I received your letter of the 1 st 
of August last, and I thank you for it, and for the pam- 
phlets enclosed with it. 

I am well persuaded that your sentiments relative to 
me are such as you describe ; and I assure you that mine 
relative to you correspond with them. 

The patrons of the abolition act, and of the Afri- 
can Institution, certainly do honour, and will probably 
do more than ordinary good to Great Britain ; against 
whom complaints have ascended both from Asia and 
Africa. It is pleasing to behold a nation assiduously 
cultivating the arts of peace and humanity in the midst 
of -war, and while strenuously fighting for their all, 
kindly extending the blessings of Christianity and civili- 
zation to distant countries. 

That your and our governments should co-operate in 
rendering their respective laws against the slave trade 
effectual, is to me very desirable, and I believe that a con- 
vention for the purpose would be approved by all, who 
think and feel as you and I do respecting that base and 
cruel traffic. Whether the times are propitious to such 
a convention, is another question. Negotiations are said 
to be pending between our government and Mr. Jackson. 
I can discern no objection to his being instructed to pro- 
pose such a measure. They who offer to do what is fit 
and right to be done, cannot be losers by it. I can do 
but little — that little shall be done. 

The information you give me respecting your family, 
and your friendly inquiries concerning mine, gratify me 
not a little. I rejoice that while perturbation reigns 
abroad, you enjoy in tranquillity at home the comforts 
mentioned iri the 128th Psalm. 

In my family there have been, since the date of my 
last letter, some painful and some pleasing events. Death 
has deprived my eldest daughter of an excellent husband, 
and of the only two children which she had. On the 

VOL. II. 6 



62 

other hand, my son has gradually recovered his health, 
and has married an amiable young lady, who, about a 
year ago, brought him a son. My other children are 
well, and doing well. 

As to myself, sickness confined me to the house last 
winter, and I am still more of an invahd than a conva- 
lescent. However difficult the task, such visitations 
should be received and borne with grateful, as well as 
patient resignation. 

The observation you cite from Hooker is very just, 
and so are your remarks on this turbulent and transitory 
scene. To see things as they are, to estimate them 
aright, and to act accordingly, is to be wise. But you 
know, my dear sir, that most men, in order to become 
wise, have much to unlearn as well as to learn, much to 
undo as well as to do. The Israelites had little comfort 
in Egypt, and yet they were not very anxious to go to 
the promised land. Figuratively speaking, we are all at 
this day in Egypt, and a prince worse than Pharaoh 
reigneth in it. Although the prophet "like unto Moses" 
offers to deliver from bondage, and invites us to prepare 
and be ready to go with him, under Divine guidance and 
protection, to the promised land ; yet great is the number 
who prefer remaining in slavery and dying in Egypt. 

If this letter should reach you, be so good as to let me 
know it, and name some person in London to whose care 
I may transmit future ones for you. 

With the best wishes for your health and happiness, 
and with real esteem and regard, 1 am, dear sir, 
Your faithful and obedient servant, 

John Jay. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. STEPHEN. 

Near Newport Pagnel, Sunday, November 18, 1809. 

My dear Sister, 

I have taken no notice of the part of your former 
letter, in which you speak of yourself after the old sort. 
We will confer on those subjects when we meet ; mean^ 



63 

while be assured that our safety does not vary with our 
feelings about it. I cannot but think, my dear sister, 
that you would do well to endeavour to apply to your- 
self more confidently the promises of the Gospel. 
Perhaps, I have scarcely said enough to you to enforce 
this practice. I should have done it more, had I not 
considered that though you were walking somewhat un- 
comfortably, yet that you were, I doubted not, walking in 
the right road, and, therefore, all would soon be well. 
If even a thousand years are with the Lord as one day, 
how contemptibly short will the span of human life ap- 
pear, when it is viewed by those who are enabled to 
know even as they are known. Yet I own I think this 
way of going on of yours arises, in a great degree, from 
your not enough considering the fulness and freeness of 
the grace of Christ. I find myself continually apt to 
lose the just impression our minds ought to retain on 
this head. We ought always to feel as those who, hav- 
ing been justified through the goodness of God through 
Christ, are assured that God is reconciled to us, if we will 
but cast ourselves on His mercy, and that He is willing 
to give us every blessing we can desire. But among these 
blessings, we ought to remember there are several which 
may seem likely at the time, at least at first, rather to 
impair our present comfort than to heighten it. Among 
these is an increasing tenderness of conscience, an in- 
creasing sense of the guilt of sin and of our own sinful- 
ness and weakness. This will, at first, increase our 
humiliation and contrition, and make it rise at times, 
even to self-abhorrence ; but, blessed be God ! there are 
promises in abundance (and I am sure I say blessed be 
God for them,) to those who are in this very state of 
mind : " The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a 
broken heart, and will save such as are of a contrite 
spirit," &c. &c. Even David was instructed to say this 
(Psalm xxxiv.), but how much more confidently (if we 
may speak thus, when even David's words were of the 
Holy Spirit's inspiration) may we assure ourselves of 
this truth, when we consider the atoning blood of Christ. 
In this frame and spirit let us cast ourselves at the foot 



64 

of the Cross, and assure ourselves of the mercy and lov- 
ing kindness of Him who has declared " Them that 
come unto me 1 will in no wise cast out." Who else are 
" the poor in spirit," " the lambs, whom Christ will 
carry in His bosom," but those who feel in this very 

way? 

May you be enabled, my dear sister, to know more 
of the comfort of Christianity, if it be the will of God ; 
especially since I believe it would probably be effected 
by your having more just views of the doctrines of the 
Gospel. However, " The time is short," and " there 
remaineth a rest for the people of God," — a rest not 
from labour only and turmoil, but from disquietude and 
sorrow. Meanwhile endeavour to look more to the Sa- 
viour for every blessing ; and " may you be strengthened 
Avith might by His Spirit in the inner man," and be 
more filled by the God of hope with all joy and peace in 
believing, that you may abound in hope through the power 
of the Holy Ghost. Farewell ! 

I could willingly keep writing on, but even here, I 
get so little time to myself, (especially time which I 
can properly apply to religious offices,) that I must not 
spend even on you the whole of what I greatly want 
myself. O, my dear sister, what an unspeakable blessing 
is it, to be disposed to retire from the crowd, and to 
acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace. This 
is your desire also on this blessed day, and it is, we are 
authorized to say, " The work of God !" We are even 
taught and enjoined to regard it in that light. Let us 
then praise God for the disposition, and be assured that 
it is only a specimen, and an earnest and pledge of His 
general inclinations towards us. It is because He loves 
us, that He has done this for us, and He will do greater 
things than this. We wrong His loving kindness aHke 
and our own comfort. But I should never have done 
if I were not to check myself. May we, my dear sister, 
I would humbly hope, join in glory, in praising the 
goodness of our God and Saviour ! 

Affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



65 

W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THOMAS BABINGTON, ESQ. 

London, November 20, 1809. 

My dear Tom, 

I have kept out of, or rather I have not been for- 
ward in getting into, the way of my political friends ; and 
I am at this moment a little discomposed by a very friendly 
invitation from Perceval, to fix a day for dining with 
him. Stephen sent me an account of the part Perceval 
had taken in the late Cabinet broils, and I really thought 
that no blame was imputable to him. He never knew 
of the intrigues for turning out Castlereagh till after par- 
liament had risen, when . . conceiving that the conse- 
quence of Castlereagh's being made acquainted with 
what was depending would be his immediate resigna- 
tion, which, as the expedition was on the point of sail- 
ing, he conceived would be highly injurious to the pub- 
lic ; under these peculiar circumstances . . he became 
party to the concealment, until the expedition should 
have come to some issue. He declared however for- 
mally in a letter to the Duke of Portland, against the 
concealment which had been practised. I own that as 
far as Castlereagh is concernced, I think Canning has 
made almost a satisfactory defence ; but the reflection 
which forces itself on my mind throughout the whole 
transaction is, that the public interest seems to have been 
forgotten by almost all parties. 

I really felt a good deal for Castlereagh, till I found 
that the challenge was sent, not, as I had conceived, 
from the impulse of the first angry feelings, but after 
having chewed the cud of his resentment for twelve 
days. This, with the consideration that in that time he 
must have learned that Canning was not so much in 
fault as others as to the concealment, makes the chal- 
lenge appear a cold-blooded measure of deliberate re- 
venge, prompted by the resentment arising from Can- 
ning's having shown, that he thought lightly of his talents 
and powers, and thereby degraded him in the public 
estimation. The duel was evidently in part the exprqs-^ 

6* 



66 

V 

sion of this revengeful anger ; in part, an expedient for 
restoring him in some degree to his level, and putting 
him in good humour with himself, as a man who had 
obtained satisfaction for the insult. 

As for the present government : the King by our con- 
stitution has a right to appoint his ministers ; and if the 
Walcheren, and even far more the Spanish, expedition 
are put out of the question, I see nothing in the Cabinet, 
such as it now is, which forbids its being entitled to a 
fair measure of parliamentary confidence. I can truly 
say that. Earl Grey only excepted, I think these men 
superior in ministerial talents to the other set. Gren- 
ville, though an excellent second, is not a sound-headed 
man, and he is very obstinate. Windham is certainly 
a drawback from the value of any ministry, unless he 
can be kept in order. Earl Grey I value very highly 
indeed as a public man. Now take the present set. 
Perceval, Wellesley, Lord Liverpool, Ryder, are really 
all sensible men ; and of Perceval, with all his faults, I 
think better than of any of the rest. But they will 
greatly want parliamentary speakers ; and yet it is sad 
work that we should take measure by the false standard 
of oratory, as to the fitness of men for ministerial situa- 
tions : it was excusable in the commonalty of Athens, 
but is scarcely so in the British House of Commons. 

But I must say two things before I conclude. First, 
if Perceval deemed it material for the public weal that 
there should be a mitigation of our parliamenary con- 
tentions, and all the other benefits of a broad-bottomed 
administration, the junction ought to have been proposed 
to Lords Grenville and Grey in the mode most likely to 
insure the acceptance of the proposal, that is, it ought 
to have been made by the King himself personally. I 
am persuaded that the King might have prevailed on 
them to unite. I even hold that they could not have 
accepted the offer as it was made, without appearing 
too eager to get into office. Yet I have never doubted 
for a moment Perceval's sincerity in his offer to the two 
Lords. His eminence was not of his own seeking. 
Secondly, if the regular opposition (excluding the demo- 
crats) would consent to abstain from systematic oppo- 



67 

sition on the declared ground, that the public danger is 
such as to call on us to dismiss all party objections and 
hostilities for a time, I should prefer it greatly to a coa- 
lition. Coalitions are odious things, and lead to the dis- 
solution of all principle, and the loss of all credit, in 
public men ; and surely it is a shame that it should be 
necessary to bribe men by the offer of good places to 
wave their party altercations. But satis disputavi. Fare- 
well. With kindest remembrances, 

Ever affectionately, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE HON. JOHN JAY. 

Kensington Gore, near Loudon, July 10, 1810. 

My dear Sir, 

Calling to mind the friendly spirit which animates 
your letters to me, I am not ashamed of being deemed 
impertinently selfish, when I commence my reply to 
your last very obliging communication of November, 
1809, by telling you that about a year and three quar- 
ters ago I changed my residence, and found myself in 
the habitation which my family now occupies, and which 
we find more salubrious than Clapham Common. We 
are just one mile from the turnpike gate at Hyde Park 
corner, which I think you will not have forgotten yet, 
having about three acres of pleasure ground around my 
house, or rather behind it, and several old trees, walnut 
and mulberry, of thick foliage. I can sit and read un- 
der their shade, which I delight in doing, with as much 
admiration of the beauties of nature (remembering at 
the same time the words of my favourite poet : " Nature 
is but a name for an effect, whose cause is God,") as if 
I were two hundred miles from the great city. 

My parliamentary duties force me to be within easy 
reach of London all the winter, and even spring, and 
sometimes for a part of the summer. I have a very 
affectionate wife, who is always unwilling to be at a dis- 
tance from me : and Providence has blest us with six 



68 

children, the eldest of whom is not quite twelve, the 
youngest under two years of age. My family are breath- 
ing pure air, and taking exercise quietly and without 
restraint, while I am in the harness at St. Stephen's, or, 
to continue the metaphor, in a very good stable just 
opposite Westminster Hall, where I commonly, or, 
rather chiefly, take both my food and rest during the 
whole session, — often being unable to come over to Ken- 
sington Gore from Monday morning to Saturday night ; 
— always, hov^ever, within call, should domestic matters 
require my presence. I was not aware that my egotism 
would be so tedious, yet again let me confess that I am 
not afraid of subjecting myself, with you, to any seve- 
rity of censure. When I have a regard for any one, I 
like to know his habits of hfe, times, places, &c. ; and I 
recollect with pleasure that you kindly gave me an ac- 
count of your family matters, and of your present situa- 
tion and pursuits. Let me beg of you to be so obliging 
as to continue so to do, in any letter which you may do 
me the favour to write : next, let me not forget to in- 
form you, that your friendly packet of the 8th of Novem- 
ber last, of which I received duplicates first, brought 
me two copies of your favour of April 14, 1806 ; for 
which, however late, accept my best thanks. In con- 
formity with the kind wish you express, that I should 
name to you some person in London to whom your let- 
ters may be addressed, let me name Robert Barclay, 
Esq. (the great brewer,) or Samuel Hoare, Esq. (the 
banker,) both of whom I think you know. 

I wish I could recollect, with certainty, how many 
of the reports of the African Institution I sent you. I 
will, however, transmit to you either to New York or 
Philadelphia, accordingly as on inquiry I shall judge 
best, all the reports but the first. Indeed, on considera- 
tion, I will send them all, as you may promote our 
common object, by giving away any copies you do not 
wish to retain. 

I am grieved to tell you that both your countrymen 
anJmy own are still carrying on the abominable traffic 
in human flesh, in spite of the abolition laws of t.^ieir 



69 

respective cauntrigs. I trust that a continuance of the 
vigorous methods we are using to carry our laws into 
effect, will by degrees force our commercial men to em- 
ploy their substance in some more innocent commerce. 
It has given me no httle pleasure, to find all your several 
ministers (both Mr. King, Mr. Monroe, and Mr. Pinck- 
ney) warmly disposed to co-operate, so far as they pro- 
perly could in their peculiar situation; and I am not 
without hopes of a practical, though not a formal 
adoption of the only effectual expedient for suppressing 
the slave trade, that of the armed vessels of both our 
countries taking the slave ships of the other as well as 
those of its own. There might be objections, though I 
own I can see none of sufficient importance to outweigh 
the countervailing benefits to a regular compact between 
our two countries for the above purpose ; but it will 
answer the same end, provided we respectively abstain 
from claiming any of our vessels which may have been 
captured when engaged in the slave trade. I have re- 
ceived, within a few weeks, the opinion of your attorney- 
general, in its practical tendency in favour of the system 
I am wishing to see established. 

My dear sir, I know not how I have been able, with 
the pen in my hand, to abstain so long from expressing 
the sincere and great pleasuse it has given me to find 
affairs taking a more favourable turn between our tw^o 
countries. I can only account for my not breaking out 
on this topic, on my first sitting down to write to you, 
by the consideration that when once there is a favour- 
able issue in any case, in which we have been receiving 
or communicating, from time to time, the tidings of the 
day, with extreme anxiety and earnestness (the French 
word empressement better expresses what I mean) as, for 
instance, in the case of the illness of a friend, we become 
so cool that we perhaps forget to inquire about, or to 
name at all the very topic on which, during the state of 
suspense, we were continually asking for or giving intel- 
ligence with such feverish solicitude. Really, the idea 
of a^ar between Qur two cpuptries is perfgptly^pxribleV 
an'd"li*am happy to say, that I thinkj^jij this country. 



70 

ibiMftlMjust. sentiment ^ins ground. Like all pro- 
positions which are founded in truth and reason, it 
gradually sinks into the minds of men, and, though 
perhaps slowly and insensibly, by degrees it leavens 
nearly the whole mass. It will tend to produce this 
friendly disposition on your"Mde of the water, if more 
of .^your jcoLUitryntm^^vould cor^ over and live awhile 
among us.^ We are an idle people j we are a busy^. 
people, and may not have"Teisufe or disposition to pay 
all the personal attenffinrwKlch politeness might pre-" 
scribe ; but I amjpersuaded that any gentleman of cha- 
racter and moderation, who should visit this country, 
-vyould meet with such a friendly reception as would 
show him that the circumstances of our being the de- 
scendants of common progenitors is not forgotten, or 
rather, that it is reviving anTlfflusTng itself with in 
creasing force. .^..^^- 

Before I conclude, let me express the satisfaction it 
gave me to find that you were safely laid up, if I may 
so express it, in a comfortable and tranquil harbour, 
after having, figuratively as well as literally, been so 
long, or at least so often, tossed on the sea of public life. 
May I confess to you, at very near fifty-one only in 
years, but with only a weak constitution, and after hav- 
ing been in parliament very near thirty years, that I 
begin to look forward to the same secession from public 
life; meaning, however, to form no positive determi- 
nation for the future, but to follow the leadings of 
Providence, and do on the day the duties of the 
day. 

In three or four years, my four boys, the eldest 
especially, will be attaining that period, of life when a 
father's eye and tongue may be most useful and neces- 
sary to their future well doing ; and really the business 
of parliament has increased so much of late years, as to 
render it next to impossible for any man who cannot 
live for six or seven months, in every year, with a very 
small proportion of food or sleep, especially the latter, 
to attend at all as he would otherwise be glad to do, to 
domestic or social claims. Then let me add, — and if 



71 

you take it as intended in the way of a hint to yourself, 
excuse only my freedom in giving it, and you will not 
greatly mistake my meaing : any man, who has acted 
his part at all creditably on the stage of public life, may 
render very great service to mankind, especially to his 
own countrymen, with whose opinions, prejudices, and 
errors he is well acquainted, by his pen ; for instance, 
by bearing testimony to the truth of the position, which, 
however trite, it i^ still useful now and then, to repeat 
and enforce, that " honesty is the best policy," &c. 

I happento have just now many claims of an epistolary 
nature, which have been too long neglected, owing to 
my having left them, as in your case, to be attended to 
when the recess of parliament should afford me a little 
more leisure. Much writing also affects my breathing. 
I must therefore conclude. But before I lay down my 
pen, let me, recollecting your kindly opening your mind 
to me on one important occasion, in I think 1795 (or 
1796), beg that when you next write to me, you would 
favour me by telling me how you would vote, &c., if 
you were in our. House of Commons on the question of . 
parliamentary reform. I do not ask you to take the 
trouble of entering into a detailed statement of the pre- 
mises which may lead you to form your judgment on that 
point, whatever it may be ; I wish only (unless you have 
a little leisure) for your conclusion. I will own to you, 
tKalTohc main motive with me for having supported, on 
a late occasion, the motion for parHamentary reform, 
was the persuasion that by taking away what must be 
confessed to be a blemish or blot, in an assembly which 
is professedly formed on the principle of representation, 
we are lessening the power of bad men to misrepresent 
and defame our constitution, and to mislead the well- 
mtentioned, but perhaps less acute and long-sighted, 
into a concurrence in their measures. Secondly, if the 
measure should be adopted at all, it is desirable that it 
should be so at a time when, as it is really the case now, 
notwithstanding the confident assurance of such^mgn aa. 
CoBBetf and his adherents, the country feels coolly on 
the subject, and is therefore not Hkely to push its repre- 



^55?ift&«*^«»3T«V>»»OT; 



72 

sentatives to go dangerous lengths ; for I think you "will 

■^gree with me that "It is a"species of reform, all things 

/ considered, concerning which, in this country and at 

this time, it is better of the two not to go quite far enough 

than to go too far. 

Farewell, my dear sir, and believe me, with cordial 
esteem and regard, 

Your faithful servant, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

p. S. As I shall be sending you a parcel, and I do not 
recollect that I ever begged your acceptance of a re- 
ligious publication, which I first sent into the world 
the year I married (and what I say of wedded life, I 
thank Heaven I should not now alter), let me now 
transmit it as a testimony of my esteem and regard. It 
was, in truth, principally intended for the use of my 
friends ; I therefore may send it to you with great pro- 
priety. I will also accompany it with another on the 
slave trade. May these books preserve in your family 
the memorial of our friendly connection; and, if you will 
not call me impertinent, I will request from you some 
similar memorial. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

Herstmonceux, near Battel, Sept. 25, 1810. 

My dear Muncaster, 

I cannot be sure whether or not I have written 
to you within the last fortnight or three weeks. If not, 
you will scarcely be able to make out my lurking-hole. 
How much will you be surprised when I go on to tell 
you, that I am within a very few miles of the tre 
mendous John Fuller. It must surely be a strange wild 
region that contains such inhabitants ; some outlandish 
place beyond the bounds of civilized society, where 
" sea-monsters whelp and stable." Indeed, were not 
Mr. Speaker at a distance but little greater, I should 
scarcely feel secure within the reach of such a barbarian. 



73 

But as it is said, that the fiercest animals feel an unex- 
tinguishable dread of the keeper who has once estab- 
lished his ascendancy over them, so I trust to the effect 
of the recollection of the great wig, and repose in 
security. To explain — I am in a corner of Sussex, in 
an excellent house lent me by a kind friend, who from 
family circumstances is kept away from it some weeks 
longer : and in a place almost as pretty as the neigh- 
bourhood of the sea ever is. Not that it is so near the 
salt water or so beautiful as Muncaster. There is a fine 
old castle here; a mere novus homo, however, compared 
with yours, having been built in Henry 6th^s time, but it 
was in complete preservation till about twenty years 
ago ; and though this is a very good private gentleman's 
habitation, yet when one sets it against a complete castle, 
one side of which was 200 feet long, and which was in 
the complete costume of the age in which it was reared, 
it dwindles into as much insignificance, as one of the 
armed knights of the middle ages, fully accoutred, who 
should suddenly be transformed into the curtailed dimen- 
sions of one of the box lobby loungers of the Opera, or 
even one of the cropped and docked troopers of some 
of our modern regiments. We have been here about 
three weeks ; and I am striving to spend less time at my 
desk, both on account of my health, and that I may, when 
alone it is in my power, have a little time for reading to 
my wife and children. I wish you and yours could be 
of the party. But I can only wish it. 

Accustomed as I am to all the conveniences of a 
highly civilized state of society, I cannot without won- 
der as well as thankfulness call to mind, that here I am 
at one extreme of the kingdom writing to you in the 
other, and not doubting of conveying to you very 
speedily the tidings of me and mine, and of receiving 
from you the account of your goings-on, though secured 
behind the natural rampart oif your ninefold wall of 
mountains. O my dear Muncaster, we are not, I am 
sure I feel it continually, we are not half grateful enough 
for the blessings with which we are favoured ; above 
all, for the spiritual blessings. I cannot help at times, 

VOL. II. 7 



74 

giving way I will not say, but, at least, lending an ear 
to suggestions which arise in my mind, that our com- 
forts will be abridged, and our pride be humbled. But 
I will abstain from striking this string, at least at pre- 
sent. Let me not excite melancholy ideas in your mind. 
If I cannot be gay, let me at least be affectionate, and 
assure you, with kind remembrances to your young 
ladies, in which Mrs. W. would join if she knew of my 
writing, that I am ever, my dear Muncaster. 
Yours most sincerely, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

Herstmonceux, Oct. 23, 1810. 

You amused me, my dear Muncaster, by showing 
yourself at least as well acquainted with this place and 
its environs, as I was after residing here a month. You 
are right, at least substantially so ; the castle is in the 
park, but, horrendum dictu ! it was pulled down, and 
the bare w^alls and ivy-mantled towers alone left stand- 
ing ; the materials being applied to the construction of a 
new house, which on the whole cost twice as much, I 
understand, as it would have taken to make the castle 
habitable, for it had fallen a little into arrears. I don't 
know however that we who inhabit the new mansion 
may not have made a good exchange by gaining in 
comfort what is lost in magaificence ; for the old build- 
ing was of such a prodigious extent, that it would have 
required the contents of almost a whole colliery to keep 
it warm ; and I think few things are more wretched, (of 
the kind I mean,) than living in a house which it is be- 
yond the powers of the fortune to keep in order ; like 
a great body with a languid circulation, all is cold and 
comfortless. 

I see from the newspapers, that the Duke of Norfolk 
has been in your part of the world. Has he not been 
in your old castle ? Not that you would much covet his 



75 

visit. There is a strange anomaly, an utter unsuitable- 
ness, between Jockey of Norfolk and the peaceful dales 
of Westmoreland, the seats of peace, and love, and 
melody, which he would people with the throng of the 
vassailers in Comus. I hope that you yourself are en- 
joying the witcheries of your fascinating prospects. I 
quite long to revisit those much-loved valleys, and rocks, 
and lakes, and waterfalls. I think the longing has been 
increased by the perusal of the Lady of the Lake, which I 
have read with delight and wonder. I really think that 
from the place where Fitz-James first lights on the moun- 
taineer, to the end of the battle, there has not often been 
a more spirited and interesting poem. 

My dear Muncaster, your kind heart will be sorry to 
hear that my friend Bowdler is going abroad for a 
milder cHmate, but we greatly fear too late. But for 
my being married, I have thought that I would go as 
his companion. He is really, take him all together, one 
of the most extraordinary young men I ever knew. If 
it should please God to restore him to health sufficient to 
enable him to carry on his profession, this will one day 
appear. But to those who love him as well as I do, it 
is an unspeakable comfort to reflect that he is, I believe, 
perfectly ready to make the great exchange. I often 
think what a change it is ! what astonishment will seize 
the minds of those whose thoughts have here been stu- 
diously turned away from all such serious subjects! My 
dear Muncaster, may we also be ready. My heart is 
very heavy. 1 know you will sympathize with me. God 
bless you and yours. 

I am ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE REV, JOHN VENN. 

My dear Sir, 

We are here in full force, and I should be ashamed 
of pouring into a friend's house thus en masse, if I were 
not really conscious that I should like to receive, as well 



76 

as to pay, such a visit : for instance, it would give me 
real pleasure to receive under my roof yourself, and 
sister, and all your descendants. The present age . . . 
though 1 must confess it has improved in that part of 
savoir vivre which respects the treatment of inmates, for 
nothing could be so annoying as the old-fashioned doing 
of the honours of the house to your guests, ab ovo usque 
ad poma, that is, from the waiting breakfast for them in 
the morning, to the lighting of them up into their bed- 
rooms at night . . . yet it is a far less hospitable age than 
the last. The very construction of our houses is a proof 
of it ; and it is but a bad change that has been made of 
all the queer little in and out closets (which would hold, 
however, a bed each,) of our forefathers, for the splendid 
drawing rooms of our own times. 

But I must break off, though I could gladly go on 
chatting; and I should have much to say of young 
Mr. S. who is staying here. How delightful it is to see 
persons thus setting themselves in early life to obtain 
eternal glory. S. seems a man of talents a§ well as of 
elegant and pleasing manners, and of a glowing spirit. 
He is disposed, entre nous, to go anywhere as a mis- 
sionary, but really considering how little, to use Soame 
Jenyns's antithesis, " how little this Christian nation is 
indeed a nation of Christians" . . . which some future 
Bentley will restore to the genuine reading, by sug- 
gesting that it was originally " how little this Christian 
nation is a nation of Christians indeed," i. e. of re vera 
Christians . . . considering this, I say, I greatly doubt 
whether such a young man might not probably be more 
useful in his own country than in any other. Do give 
me your opinion. To be sure it is much, and it is rare, 
to find the real vivida vis animi, which renders a man 
decided to go anywhere to preach the glad tidings of 
salvation through a Redeemer, and at the same time, to 
preach a plain practical doctrine of the true apostolic 
standard. Farewell, my dear sir, and believe me ever 
most affectionately yours, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



77 

JOHN JAY TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bedford, 25th October, 1810. 

Dear Sir, 

On the 13th instant I received and read with great 
pleasure your interesting and friendly letter of the 18th 
July last. There are several topics in it on which I 
should like to converse with you ; they shall be noticed in 
some future letters. As I cannot write or read much at 
a time without fatigue, I shall confine myself at present 
to the one on w^hich you express a wish to know my 
sentiments. 

A satisfactory answer to the question of " refobm^" 
cart only result from a judicious selection and combina- 
tion of the reasons and circumstances which b^ar re- 
lalTo rTtoTtT" Of m any of these my information is so im- 
^leH^ asjhat it would be rash to form a decided 
judgment. I have not sufficient daj^ whereon to calcu- 
late, whether so much good may reasonably be expected 
from such a measure, as would justify the risk of incon- 
veniences to which every TmpbrtantinTfovation is more 
ortesrliable. 

The principles of the EngHsh constitution appear to 
require that the whole number of representatives should 
be fairly apportioned among the whole number of elec- 
tors. BuLlhave observed nothing in it which even if^, 
^ies^what JscaUed " universal s^uffrage." It is not a, 
new remark, that they who own the country are the most.. 
fit persons to participate in the goverrirnent of it. This 
remark, with certain restrictions and exceptions, has 
force in it ; and applies both to the elected and the elec- 
tors, though with most force to the former. 

I do not know what the proposed plan of reform 
precisely is. If it be only to apportion the representa- 
tives among the counties, or other convenient election 
districts, whether now existing, or to be instituted, ac- 
cording to the number of their respective electors, I 
should consider it as being a just and constitutional 
measure, and should adopt it, unless some existing or 

impending circumstances should render it unreasonable. 

7# 



7S' 

I am the more inclined to this opinion by the present 
state of your aristocracy, which is such, as not unnatu- 
rally to excite a jealousy that it will obtain, if it has not 
already obtained, an undue ascendency. The F^.ggc^e- 
volution has so discre4ite4 democracy, and it has so jfe^K.. 
influential advocates in^ Europe, that I doubt its giving 
you much niqre trouble. On the contrary, there seems 
to be a danger of itrHepreciatins too much. Without a 
portion of it therein be no^free government. What 
that portion should be in England, is a question to wTiicH"* 
your cohstitutiorLafFords, in my opinion, the best answer. 
To preserve balances in times like these, is difficult; mere 
palliative pro hac vice expedients seldom produce durable 
good. They so frequently violate sound established, 
principles, as rarely to prevent more trouble than they 
cause. The fluctuation of human affairs occasionally 
imposes changes on nations as well as on individuals, to 
which they find it necessary and prudent to accommo- 
date, by corresponding or by countervailing changes. 
These, if made considerately and in season, generally 
conduce to security and order. Whether, during the rage 
and range of democracy, your aristocracy received 
greater accessions of strength than the public safety and 
sound policy required, I do not know. There seems, how- 
ever, to be reason to apprehend, that when things return 
to a calm and settled course, the commons will feel the in- 
fluence of the lords out of doors, and consequently within 
doors, in a greater degree than the constitution allows. 
If so, that consideration becomes an argument in favour 
of the proposed " reform." 

I will add an observation which strikes me as having 
weight. Some of the boroughs appear to have degene- 
rated into a mere mean, by which opulent political 
leaders supply themselves with able and active partisans 
and advocates. These, although received in parliament 
as members, are in fact and truth the representatives of 
their employers, and not of the nation. It must be ad- 
mitted that these employers have often taken into their 
service men of great talents, and in many instances, of 
great worth. Wise and good borough-holders, like wise 



79 

and godd kings, doubtless wish and endeavour to make 
the best appointments ; but ought either borough-holders 
or kings to appoint representatives for the nation ? 

With great esteem and regard, and the best wishes for 
the prosperity of yourself and family, 

. I am, dear sir. 
Your most obedient and faithful servant, 

John Jay. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE RIGHT HON. JOHN 

SMYTH. 

Herstmonceux, near Battel, November 6, 1810. 

My dear Smyth, 

Though I were to abstain from taking up my 
pen, you would give me credit, I trust, for thinking of 
you and sympathizing with you on the late afflicting 
event, which the newspapers notified to me, but to which 
I feared but too much credit was due, remembering the 
apprehensions you had expressed in the summer. But 
"though, as I have already said, you would make sure of 
my sympathy were I to remain silent, it affords a sort of 
melancholy pleasure both to give and to receive the 
assurances of our taking a friendly interest in the sor- 
rows of those we love ; and it is partly to send you this 
assurance that I now write to you. From the strain of 
your last highly interesting letter, the melancholy close 
of your long course of anxiety would find you, I trust, 
in a state to profit from it — I say to profit — for it is 
an opinion formed after much observation, that we are 
either the better or the worse for all such visitations — 
they scarcely ever leave us where they find us. I have 
known several instances in which they have been the 
means of a permanent change for the better in the 
character ; and as we are expressly told in the Scrip- 
tures that the dispensations of the Almighty are de- 
sig4ied with the gracious purpose of improving our 
moral condition, we ought, on all such occasions, to 
make it our deliberate care and earnest endeavour, that 




80 

the intentions of Heaven, if I may so express myself, 
are not disappointed, but that they may produce the in- 
tended effects. 

People who have any sense of religion at all, appear 
■for the most part to bear this class of afflictive visit- 
ations with more resignation than might be expected. 
I think this arises in part from their being such as 
come manifestly from above ; — not like the misfortunes 
which we can trace to the injustice or ingratitude 
of men; — they are such also as we cannot resist or 
control. We cannot help ourselves, if I may so express 
it. But here they commonly stop ; forgetting that by 
such strokes, they are called upon not only to suffer, but 
to do. Here, as in almost every other instance, the error, 
and consequently the fault, arises chiefly from their 
ignorance of the Word of God. O how extensively ap- 
plicable will be found at the last day this crime of ne- 
glecting the Scriptures, even by those who acknowledge 
their authenticity and authority ! But I must check the 
disposition I feel to pursue this train of thought much 
farther. Yet let me resume it for a few minutes. The 
improvement to be derived from such domestic losses is 
no way difficult to discover : but here, as in other cases, 
where we are ignorant of our being diseased, we do not 
apply for the remedy, though were we to apply, an 
infallible remedy is at hand. People too often think 
mey .only need improvement, when in reality they want 
a radical reform, (a phrase whicti I like as much in a 
j;eligious, as I abhor it in a polificirfehsej^nffiey requir§^ 
the completion of that great change of which our Saviour 
and Ktis apostles spS^ so often and so.foxcibly, undef^ 
the^'expressions ^T*putting off the old and putting on 
the new man — of becoming a new creature, &c. &c. 
In such afflictive dispensations as that which you have 
lately experienced, we are called upon to " consider our 
ways," to examine " whether we are in the faith," to 
ascertain whether we are prepared for that future 
state, for which it is the great object of Christianity to 
fit us. 

I wish you would read carefully and consider what 



81 

must be the real meaning of that striking part of our 
Saviour's address to the Church of Laodicea, in the third 
chapter of the Revelations, " Behold I stand at the door 
and knock," &c. Then whether we have all our work to 
begin, or whether we have begun and have to carry it 
on farther, or like the Laodiceans have to recover from 
a state of declension, the process is the same ; and I 
know nowhere that it is so well described as in my 
favourite volume Doddridge's Rise and Progress. We 
must pray more earnestly; we must read the Scriptures 
more diligently, those parts of them especially which 
more pecuharly suit our case, we must endeavour by 
meditation and prayer to strengthen our impression of 
invisible things, and to obtain a larger measure of that 
Holy Spirit which is promised to all who earnestly seek 
it with penitence and faith. Of course I consider as 
combined with all this, constant self-examination, and 
watchfulness over our hearts and lives, that not our con- 
duct only, but our thoughts and affections may be such 
as will be well pleasing to God. It is in this way, my 
dear friend, that the character is to be formed which is 
spoken of in Holy Scripture in the exalted terms of 
" being made meet to be partaker of the inheritance of 
the saints in light;" and it is, indeed, a blessed consider- 
ation in this case only, if we do strive in earnest we 
cannot but succeed. As sure as the Almighty is a God 
of truth, so sure may we be, that He will give His Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him. There is scarcely any 
thing more remarkable than the difficulty with which 
we give credit to these declarations of the divine mercy; 
and though this may sometimes proceed from humility, 
as it would almost always excuse itself under that guise, 
it is more commonly the result of unbelief. I know no- 
thing which has ever impressed on my mind more power- 
fully the infinite^ condescension of God, than that for the 
purpose of providing against this diffidence of ours, (for 
the Scriptures throughout discover a thorough acquaint- 
ance with our natural character,) He has even vouch- 
safed to confirm this often-repeated declaration by an 
oath, — I think, in the 6th chap, of Hebrews, but have 



82 

not time to look. Of the argument, however, and inten- 
tion, I am sure, for it is a source of deep consolation to 
my own mind ; as it is said, " That they might have a 
strong consolation who have fled for refuge to the hope 
set before us." 

My dear friend, I am persuaded I need not apologize 
to you for thus pouring out the fulness of a heart which 
is deeply interested for your happiness, and which, to its 
earnest wishes, joins its cordial prayers, that you may 
partake largely of all those never-ending blessings which 
are prepared for such as seek them in the way which 
the word of God points out. I was going to lay down the 
pen, but one thought more occurs to me, which I should 
be sorry to omit : I was looking the other day into the 
preface of a publication of Mr. Fellowes, and to my 
wonder I saw that he recommended it to people to con- 
fine their reading chiefly to the Gospels and to neglect 
the Epistles, more especially those of St. Paul. If he 
had said just the contrary, he would have done very 
wrong, but really I should have thought him far more 
reasonable, considering that St. Paul was commissioned 
by our Saviour himself to preach the Gospel, and to en- 
lighten, &c., the Gentiles :— " Unto whom now I send 
thee, to open their eyes," &c., (Acts xxvi.) : — Paul's 
Speech before Festus and Agrippa. Do look at the pas- 
sage. Now how astonishing, that any one professing to 
believe this to be the word of God, should yet say that 
St. Paul is the very teacher to whom we ought not to 
listen ! Farewell, my dear friend ! May every bless- 
ing attend you and yours here and hereafter ! — so 
heartily exclaims 

Your faithful friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

I am going to London (Kensington Gore) in two or 
three days. Kind remembrances to your daughter. I 
hope your eldest son and his lady are well. I fear I am 
scarcely legible. It is owing to my being conscious that, 
if my hand did not gallop it could not get to its jour- 
ney's end. Here they come for my letters : — well 
saved. 



83 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

London, March 12, 181 L 

My dear Muncaster, 

How strange it is that the very letter from you 
which I have suffered, I fear, to lie in my writing-box 
unanswered for two or three weeks, should be one 
which was the effusion of your warmest feeHngs, and 
which produced kindred emotions in my heart, just as if 
it had been so little interesting as to have escaped my 
recollection altogether ; but the truth is, that my delay- 
ing to write to you has arisen from the precisely oppo- 
site cause ; for really the state of mind in which I felt 
myself was so uncongenial with inclosure bills and turn- 
pike-roads-renewal acts, that 1 could not proceed with- 
out violence to my feelings in the midst of all the hurly 
burly of my Palace Yard life. Some time has now 
passed away, and how wonderfully does time deaden 
the sensibility of our emotions 1 Few things have 
struck me more, than that those who filled the largest 
space in the eyes of men appear to be very soon for- 
gotten. 

But, my dear Muncaster, I must not forget to notice 
one sentiment in your letter : you say you have long 
ceased to be concerned for those who are taken away ; 
that you rather, on the contrary, envy their lot, &c. 
Now, without applying your words to any particular 
person, much less to our lately deceased friend, of whom 
I assure you I thought more favourably than of people 
in general, we ought to remember, my dear Muncaster, 
both for ourselves and for others, that to die, to quit this 
perishing world, and enter on a state of never-changing 
existence — of existence, too, either exquisitely happy, or 
exquisitely miserable — is, indeed, an awful event : as, 
also, that there must be a certain preparation of heart 
and character before any one can be admitted into the 
state of bliss ; therefore, unless this character really 
seems to be formed, it is surely the kindest thing we 
can do to urge those whom we love to apply in earnest 
to that work, to which none who apply in earnest will 



84 

apply in vain. On these grounds, I have often, blamed 
myself for not asking you what religious books you had 
prevailed on an old friend of ours to read, or have read 
to him. . . . 

But, my dear Muncaster, I have been running on 
strangely ; you like, however, I know, that I should 

" pour forth all my soul as plain 

As downright Shippen or as old Montaigne ;" 

and therefore I shall not apologize : but I will now lay 
down my pen, first asking when you think of coming up 
to London again. You will forget the way to the House 
of Commons. How are your daughters going on ? Did 
you know that I had lost a steady and most active friend 
at Leeds, Mr. Cookson, a man of most extraordinary 
powers. Nothing could be more honourable than the 
whole of his conduct towards me; nothing more dis- 
interested. 

I thank God we are all pretty well, though Mrs. W. 
has had a bad cold; they have been almost general 
hereabouts. Farewell, my dear Muncaster, and believe 
me, 

Ever most sincerely yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

July 26, 1811. 
My dear Wilberforce, 

The question* you speak of is one I have thought 
and shall think very much about; but the reasons on 
both sides are painfully important, and such as do not 
well admit of being fairly poised against each other. 
As to the intellectual decay, I am disposed to say that 
it is not real ; I never heard you speak better than the 
last time, pitch of voice excepted ; and I think you are 
better and better heard there, in the parliamentary sense 

* Mr. Wilberforce's standing again for Yorkshire. 



85 

of the word. Your great defect always has been want 
of preparation in cases that demand, and, — with those 
who do not know your habits, — raise the expectation 
of it. No man does so little justice to his own powers. 
That you stand so high as you do, is because you could 
stand much higher if you would, i, e. if you could and 
would take time to arrange your matter. At the same 
time I do think your faculties, in one respect, are the 
worse for wear ; I mean your memory. I perceive it to 
decline even as fast as my own, and that is a bold word. 
Yet were I continually hurried as you are, I could 
remember nothing and do nothing. 

We are, however, to recollect that the question is not 
merely what you are, but what you are likely to continue 
to be for some years ; and in this view I am by no means 
clear that the rule solve senescenlem is not applicable in 
the case supposed. I lament, my dear Wilberforce, to 
say, that of late I have at times seen or conceived I saw 
symptoms of deterioration in your bodily appearance, as 
if you were getting old faster than I could wish, or rather 
losing the promise of long abiding strength ; but in this 
one is apt to deceive one's self, and be the dupe of one's 
own apprehensions. Your spirits, too, I have thought 
not uniformly so high and so long on the wing as they 
used to be. 

If I could persuade you to think as I and others do 
respecting the duties of parliamentary life, I should have 
much less difficulty on this question. If you could be 
content with a very limited attendance, coming down 
only on special or important occasions, and leaving the 
ordinary business of the house to younger and stronger 
men, you might do much good there without hurting 
yourself, or neglecting your private duties. I can by 
no means admit that it is every man's duty to attend 
every sitting of the house, and that a man has no right 
to accept a seat unless he is to take part in every de- 
liberation, or vote on every question. You yourself 
make exceptions for lawyers and men in public offices 
which call them elsewhere, and why not for men who 
are infirm, or who have private duties, or important 

VOL. II. 8 



86 

public labours of a voluntary and gratuitous kind which 
demand their time at their desks or elsewhere out of the 
house? If you were digesting information, preparing 
papers, concerting measures, &c. for the promotion of 
great public objects out of the house, how directly might 
it -minister to your usefulness when in it. But if very 
frequent non-attendance were to be the result of private 
occupations alone, what then? Is a representative 
unfaithful, or does he serve his country ill because he 
does not give all his time to political labours during the 
enormous portion of the year now occupied by a session? 
Then let celibacy be a qualification for parliament as 
"w^ell as for the popish priesthood. A man has no right 
to be a husband and a father unless he will give to those 
relations an adequate portion of his time. A profes- 
sional man perhaps does not ; but then he is labouring 
for his family's support and welfare. Surely a man has 
at least a right to consider whether it is better for his 
country that he should give to it a half or quarter por- 
tion of parliamentary attendance, or quit parliament 
"altogether. Now I beHeve no man but yourself will 
doubt that it would be better for the country to have 
the smallest portion of your time in the house than to 
take in your stead one of our ordinary representatives, 
or such a one as would be likely to fill the seat which 
you relinquish or decline. For my part, I even fancy 
you coming down like the great Chatham, or some 
other veteran on great occasions, exciting an interest 
even by the rarity of your presence, much more by your 
opinion delivered with all the aid of preparation, and 
perhaps doing more good in that way than you have 
ever yet done. Three-fourths of our debates are on 
questions hardly fit for you, and not worthy of your 
time. They are such as embarrass you on the middle 
ground you occupy, and make it difficult for you to act 
without a real or apparent inconsistency. Whenever a 
vote requires, in the eye of the public, explanations and 
distinction from you, it had better not be given at all, 
for your explanations and distinctions will generally be 
misunderstood or misrepresented. It has often been 



87 

my clear opinion, and as often when we voted together 
as the reverse, that absence would have been a happy- 
resort for you, and that it was a pity you voted at all. 
You have a peculiar sort of character to support, and 
therefore when I thought you right I have felt thus, — 
there are many things right and necessary to be done 
which had better be done by inferior instruments, and in 
the absence of, or without, the participation of those to 
whom one ascribes peculiar delicacy, or who command 
superior respect, just as when the floors and stairs are 
washing, one would wish the ladies and gentlemen to 
go out or keep up stairs. But I must refrain from par- 
ticular illustrations. 

All this might imply that you must decline the 
county ; and why not on that express ground, viz., that 
your many private and extra-parliamentary avocations 
and state of health would oblige you, if you continued 
in parliament, to be less close and punctual in attend- 
ance than the business of such a county requires. Here 
a new plan of conduct might be publicly and decorously 
pointed out. Whoever returned you would have notice 
of it, and could not complain ; and if you afterwards did 
for the county at large all that you could not do in par- 
liament consistently with other duties, where could be 
the fault ? For my part, I repeat that I firmly believe 
you would have more weight in the house, and do more 
good there, if you only came when there was dignus 
vindice nodus. As to knowledge of the business depend- 
ing there, you seem to think that a man can never hear 
too much, or read or talk too much on any subject, be- 
fore he votes on it ; but for my part I hold that a man 
goes as often wrong from too much as from too little 
discussion. Besides, the newspapers, bad as they are, 
give general ideas enough to enable a man who will 
take time in his library to make up a sound opinion on 
most questions before their ultimate decision. I am clear 
you would be oftener right if you consulted only your 
own judgment and your books, and not what is said by 
others, either in or out of the House. 

Such, my dear Wilberforce, are my thoughts in 



88 

general on a subject in which nobody, not even yourself, 
can take a deeper interest. 

But the bell rings to prayers, and it is late, so I must 
finish for to-night, praying that you may be directed as 
is best and happiest for you and yours. 
I am,- my dear Wilberforce, 

Yours ever very affectionately, 

J. Stephen. 

My opinion strongly inclines that you should not sit 
again for Yorkshire. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE MARQUIS 
WELLESLEY. 

Herstmonceux, near Battel, August 5, 1811. 

My dear Lord Wellesley, 

It would be worse than useless, by any remarks 
of my own, to attempt to add to the abhorrence which 
will be excited in your mind, by the perusal of the 
inclosed paper ; but it may be right for me to inform 
you, that it is transmitted to me by a very respectable 
dissenting minister, (respectable in point both of talents 
and character,) Mr. George Burder, who is secretary to 
the London Missionary Society. It may also be useful 
for you to know, that this Society is a very numerous 
body, which was formed about twelve or fifteen years 
ago (speaking from loose recollection), and has sent 
missionaries to the different islands in the South Seas, 
and to various other parts. It is supported by the volun- 
tary subscriptions of persons of all the various religious 
denominations in this country, and once in every year 
there is a meeting, commonly in May, when, for several 
days together, sermons are preached and collections 
made ; persons coming in great numbers from all parts 
of England to attend. The influence of the Society is 
therefore on the whole very considerable. From all I 
have heard, I am inclined to believe, that their missiona- 



89 

ries have been more respectable, (Dr. Vanderkemp, Mr. 
Kicherer, &c.) and their success greater, at the Cape, 
and in its vicinity, than in any other quarter. I know^ not 
whetheryou ever happened to read Barrow's account of 
the Cape, 2 vols. 4to. ; the accounts v^hich it gives of 
the cruel treatment of the Hottentots, by the bpox§> fe 
strongly confirming Mr. Read's narrative. I have also 
seen, I am nearly sure, in the same vi^ork, a striking 
confirmation of all which Mr. Read states concerning 
the hatred felt by the boors towatds^^ihe missionaries 
fb^r thei|;Jyj34ae^ to the Hottentots, of whom also Bar- 
row, by the way, speaks in very high terms. The 
boors were once planning a scheme for exterminating 
^BTientiTe settlement of the Moravian missionaries, and 
it was only the day before the assassiaatLons were to 
Rave taken placa,..thiaJt tbe,.pl^^^^^ and pre- 

venteo. 

You, my dear Lord Wellesley, without a compliment, 
will know better than I can what course to pursue ; 
whether or not, after more inquiry, any special commis- 
sion should be sent out, to investigate, and if due pre- 
sumptive proof be obtained, to try, the parties who are 
accused of these enormities. I am not aware how jus- 
tice is administered at the Cape, but I hope in such a 
way as to prevent any bad effects from being produced 
by the influence of the boors. It is obvious, however, 
that it will be necessary to take all due precautions, to 
prevent the dread of these powerful men from render- 
ing witnesses afraid of coming forward to give evidence, 
I ought perhaps to mention, what however is obvious, 
that the paper I inclose was not intended for the eye of 
government, and that it therefore speaks in plainer terms 
than it might otherwise use, of Lord Caledon and Major 
Cuyler. It is pleasing to observe the candour with 
which it mentions Lord Caledon ; and indeed, from all 
I have heard of his character, I cannot but entertain a 
firm conviction of his disposition to do justice, and to 
suppress practices far less horrid than these. But to 
you, who know what terms were used in speaking of the 
missionaries in the East Indies, on whose learning and 

8* 



90 

merits I need not dilate to him who so kindly protected 
them, it will not appear surprising, if the mind of Lord 
Caledon should have received a prejudice against the 
missionaries at the Cape. Perhaps you may wish to 
hear farther particulars before you determine what 
course to pursue. Mr. Geo. Burder, who resides in 
Chamberwell Grove, near London, will thankfully obey 
any summons he may receive from you. 

I remain, 
My dear Lord Wellesley, 
Your Lordship's very truly, 

W. WiLBfiRrORCE. 

P. S. I am just now about to write to your secretary, 
Mr. Hamilton, about the Calabar Portugal slave trade. 
May I beg the favour of you, when you have read the 
inclosed paper, to let Perceval see it ? 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

Herstmonceux, near Battel, August 23, 1811. 

My dear Muncaster, 

First be it known to you, that I have at last seen, 
the spot, with my ignorance of which you reproached 
me the first year I had been here for some weeks, the 
very spot where William the Conqueror planted his 
standard. To be within sight of that memorial of our 
humiliation on the one hand, and on the other to behold 
the place where Julius Cassar landed, and afterwards 
defended his men while he was preparing for pushing 
his conquests, may seem somewhat ominous. But, 
Te facimus fm'tuna Deum ! and to a man who has been 
reading Captain Pasley, such omens as these are of 
trifling import. Have you read, by the way. Captain 
Pasley's late publication'? It is certainly a work of 
great vigour of thought. You may differ from him as 
to many of the principles on which he proposes to act, 
and on the probability of success from pursuing the 
plans he has pointed out. But you must, I am sure, 



91 

admire the spirit of the man, and not his spirit only, but 
his good sense. 

There is, however, one great error running through 
his book, in which he reminds me of men who, calcu- 
lating on lives and forces, &c. on paper, forget that 
friction and the air's resistance, and a thousand other 
causes, interfere in real life. Just so Captain Pasley 
forgets a certain body called the House of Commons ! — 
a certain thing called party, another named opposition, 
and a fourth termed the finance committee. In short, 
our constitution, excellent as it is in most respects, is not 
calculated for carrying on offensive war with effect; and 
most ministers, from anticipating the jealousy with 
w^hich they are to be watched, and the hard measure 
which is to be dealt out to them, abstain from engaging 
in any of that class of measures. Still, I say, read 
Captain Pasley. If I mistake not you will think it a 
book of more real vigour of thought and independence 
of character than any which has been written for several 
years, indeed, since the beginning of the last, or rather, 
for surely it is the same, of the present w^ar. 

Your last friendly letter, my dear Muncaster, reached 
me yesterday, and you truly say that though 100 miles 
nearer by the road book, we are substantially as far 
asunder as ever. I wish we were near enough to allow 
of our having a tete-ct-tete. There are one or two points 
on which I should be glad to talk with you, and when 
you hear that they are deeply interesting to me, I know 
I do not deceive myself in believing them to be not a 
little interesting to you. But separated as we are for 
the present, they must pass — another topic I cannot but 
mention to you. It is the price you pay for being 
known to call me friend, and not only to call, but to 
give cause for admitting the justice of the appellation. 
There are certain requests which one feels doubtful 
about making, and which at the same time one cannot 
refuse to make. I will send you my friend's letter. He 
is, I can truly say, a man of genuine worth, and he has 
lived down a great deal of opposition, the best way you 
will agree with me in which a theologian can defend 



92 

his principles and vindicate his character. You must 
yourself judge of the propriety of undertaking the 
cause. 

I enter into all you say about our friend Smyth's son's 
match, and am glad he is connecting himself with so 
good a family, as well as with so handsome a fortune. 
Your mention of Lord Castlecote brings old times to 
my remembrance. I beg you will give my friendly re- 
membrances to him ; and to the Morritts say all that is 
kind. Morritt is a man for whom I feel a real friend- 
ship ; and I assure you he has never done himself jus- 
tice. Between ourselves, I have often thought he ought 
to be at some time my successor. I must break off. 
Kindest remembrances to your daughters from Mrs. W. 
and 

Your ever faithful, 

W. WlLEERFORCE. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Beaconsfield, Sunday afternoon, September 1, 1811. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have ridden thus far on my way to town, and 
mean to sleep here, though I must be at my office by 
eleven to-morrow. I rode, after morning service, through 
a most enchanting woodland path to the southward of 
Bledlow ridge, and meant to take the afternoon service 
at Woburn, three miles below this place, and to hear 
Mr. Tyndale, a man you must like if ever you heard 
him, but found myself (by mis-information as to the 
hour of his afternoon service, and as to the distance of 
Woburn from the road) too late to go in with decency, 
and therefore have proceeded hither, — far enough, I 
think for a Sabbath day's journey, though I and my 
horse are fresh enough to proceed. On asking, after 
dinner, for a book, and a good book, I amused the 
waiter, as I learned not only from a titter, but a conver- 
sation that I overheard. The landlady has furnished 
me, however, with a book that I do not remember to 



93 

have seen before, — "Nelson's companion for the Fes- 
tivals and Fasts of the Church of England." 

I was not exactly v^ell pleased with my chance, but 
where may not a man find good if he seeks it ? There 
is, in the brief character and account of the author pre- 
fixed, enough to excite attention and warm approbation. 
He, in some points, seems to have resembled yourself, 
and he led me to some comparisons of him with a very 
different sort of creature called James Stephen, not much 
to the advantage of the latter, when I consider his zeal 
for those good works which more immediately respect 
God and the hfe to come. He dates his preface A. D. 
1703, Ormond Street.* 

The weakness of our natures, of my nature at least, 
make even these trifling identities aid the effect of com- 
parison and contrast in other points. But what has led 
to the present scribble is a passage in which he points 
out the duty of building and, when necessary, repairing 
churches. This has really hit me as hard as if a man, 
or being, who had been inspecting my conduct during 
this week and the last, had written it on purpose to re- 
prove me. It happens that the Httle chapel which Mr. 
Gilbert, aided by the subscriptions of private friends in 
and out of the parish, had built upon Bledlow Ridge, is, 
from an original fault in the structure, in danger of 
falling down. It is thought by Harper dangerous even 
to sit in at present. The roof must be taken off, &c., 
and William, on my last visit at Bledlow, was expressing 
his fears that a fifth part of the necessary expense could 
not be raised in the parish ; yet if the chapel must be 
deserted, away goes, in winter at least, the church-going 
of one half of his poor parishioners. To do myself jus- 
tice, I heard with a general, indefinite resolution of doing 
what I could to prevent this consequence. I believe I 
told him I would subscribe; but not one step have I 
taken, nor even formed one specific purpose on the sub- 
ject : yet, shame to my selfishness ! my thoughts have 
been anxiously employed on building a house, not for 

* Mr. Stephen's house was in Ormond Street. 



94 

God, but for myself, on that very spot. My friend Forbes 
went there with me for the first time last week, and with 
all his philosophy and prudence, he is enthusiastic in his 
praise and admiration of Beech Grove, which he agrees 
with Mr. Babington in thinking the most beautiful farm 
he ever saw, and earnestly advised me to do all, and 
more than all that I meditated, in building a cottage 
residence upon it. Instead of 100/., to which I had 
brought myself, he insists on my laying out 300/., and 
vanquishes my scruples by his opinion of how much it 
will add even to the marketable value of the property ; 
in short, I have been planning, estimating, contracting, 
and making two journeys to determine the site, &c., 
without thinking (except in the way of procrastinating 
an unformed purpose) of the poor chapel, and " the 
house not made with hands" connected with it, in which 
my poor neighbours have so deep an interest. 

I have been contriving to cherish the portion of the 
building season that remains this year. I have already 
pulled down, got materials, taken up all the vacant 
hands, and have been pleasing myself with the prospect 
of covering in by November, while, alas ! the poor 
chapel by that time may be in ruins, and the poor with- 
out an accessible place of worship till the next summer, 
at least. Such is my selfishness and fondness for this 
bad world, after all the weaning from it I have supposed 
myself to have had. 

Well ! Nelson has smitten me for this : and now to 
my purpose. I know not what the repairs will cost; 
but I will know D. V. in a few days ; and also what the 
few who can and will give in the parish are likely to 
contribute. If afterwards I find, as I fear I shall, more 
help wanting, than I can justifiably give, have you any 
thing to spare that you can, all things considered, satis- 
factorily give to such a purpose? I will neither ask, 
nor allow you to subscribe more than half as much as I 
do. Your church-building purse has, I know, many 
claims on it ; but I must confess, whatever the shame or 
sin be, that I do not recollect having ever given to such 
a purpose before. I am more apt to feel for the tern- 



95 

poral than spiritual wants of my fellow creatures, but, 
alas ! not half enough for either, except in one hobby- 
horsical path. 

I am. 
My dear Wiberforce, 

Ever very affectionately yours, 

J. S. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO C. DUNCOMBE, ESQ. 
(now LORD FEVERSHAM.) 

Yoxall Lodge, November 13, 181L 

My dear D., 

I trust, though I returned no answer to your last 
letter, that you would not impute my silence to my not 
sympathizing with you and Lady C. in your heavy 
affliction. I hope you know too well the interest I take 
in what concerns you, and besides I am myself a father, 
and have a daughter whom I tenderly love. I scarcely 
need say, that when I wrote to you, I had not heard of 
the melancholy event ; but I had seen it in the news- 
paper, before I received your account of it. In one 
respect, my dear C, (allow me to open my heart to 
you without reserve,) your letter gave me real pleasure. 
It showed me that you were endeavouring to derive your 
consolation from the only true source. In such trying 
moments, it is indeed an unspeakable comfort to reflect, 
that the event we deplore has not happened by chance ; 
but that it is the Ordination of an all-wise and all-mer- 
ciful Being, who does not willingly or needlessly afflict 
His creatures. 

In truth, such incidents are intended to remind us 
that this is not our home, but only a probationary state, 
in which we are to acquire that character, and those 
dispositions of mind which may quahfy us for another 
and a better world; with the awful consideration, 
however, that unless we are thus fitted for happiness, 
we must not hope to enjoy it. My dear Duncombe, I 
am sure, while I am writing these truths, I feel their 



96 

infinite importance to myself, and when I consider my 
own natural infirmities and weaknesses, (I am speaking 
of those of the heart of course) I should despair of seeing 
that great change effected on myself which must be 
wrought in order to our becoming admissible into the 
heavenly world, were it not for the gracious declarations 
contained in the Scriptures, that to the prayers of all 
who, conscious of their own inability, shall earnestly im- 
plore the sanctifying inlluences of the Holy Spirit, in 
the Redeemer's and Slediator's name, they shall certainly 
be vouchsafed. For, religion, I hope I need not assure 
you, consists not in my mind, in abstaining from some of 
those public amusements and scenes of dissipation which 
are so fashionable in the higher world ; this abstinence 
at least is only intended as means to an end, and the 
obtaining of that end is the grand concern. Blessed be 
God, this, however, is an endeavour, in which, if we 
do not faint by the way, we may be assured we shall 
not, we cannot fail — for innumerable are the promises 
made to them that seek in the word of God, that 
blessed book which is so strangely neglected by multi- 
tudes who nevertheless believe in its Divine authority. 

Following the impulse of my heart I have been led 
away into pouring forth an effusion which I should be 
afraid to send, except to something more than a nominal 
friend, who knows, I trust, the friendly feelings from 
which it has proceeded. I have scarcely left myself 
room to say that, having found among some tracts I 
brought down with me a beautiful little piece of a late 
excellent friend of mine, Mr. Cecil, I have resolved to 
send it to you. The late Archbishop of Canterbury I 
remember, when he lost a sweet young daughter just 
entering into life, told me, that he was excessively 
pleased, and he hoped profited as well as comforted by 
it. On the other subject, I can say no more than I did ; 
not liking to decide till I can consult a friend whom I 
hoped to see ere now, but shall not see, I now find, for 
some weeks. W.'s kind remembrances to Lady Char- 



97 

lotte, who I hope is pretty well, though I know what a 
shock she must have sustained. 
I am. 

My dear C, 

Yours most sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. 

Kensington Gore, May, 1812. 
Near 2, Thursday. 

My dear Macaulay, 

I had scarcely finished my note to you yesterday, 
when letters and depositions were put into my hands with 
an earnest request that I would immediately take them to 
the Secretary of State. Disturbances similar to those of 
Nottingham have begun near Huddersfield. After a short 
pause, I judged that I had no right to neglect the duties 
of my station, providentially occurring, in order to at- 
tend to a business which, however important, was less 
specially committed to my care. This morning again, 
from breakfast and at it, till now when I have left people 
in the dining-room to write this note, I have had per- 
sons with me on business whom I could not exclude. 
It grieved me till I reflected that it was the ordination 
of that Being whose cause I wished to plead, and who 
knows better than we do what instruments to employ 
in such services. 

I have been consoling myself with reflecting, that per- 
haps publishing in " The Christian Observer" might have 
put our opponents on counteracting us, and that it may 
be as well for us to work for a time in private. But I 
am sadly discouraged by the lukewarmness of some from 
whom I hoped better things. But do you your best, 
I will do mine. Let us be clear of the blood, whosoever 
may have to answer for it. I found the other day, that 
some Anglo-Indians, literary men, and living in the 
literary circles, were discrediting and causing others to 
discredit Buchanan's Account of the burning of Hindoo 

VOL. II. 9 



98 

widows round Calcutta, by saying, " the account should 
have been published in the East, where it could have 
been contradicted. But no, he published it only after he 
came home." 

I have written to Dr. Buchanan, and learn with joy that 
his memoir, which contains the account of the burnings 
for thirty miles round Calcutta in 1804, as stated by Dr. 
Carey, came out in Calcutta in 1806 ; that Dr. B. staid 
in Calcutta till 1808, talking with all the learned people 
about every part of the memoir, and that the burnings 
were never denied ; that he, in the service of govern- 
ment, presented a copy of his work to government, 
and desired that any error might be pointed out : but 
none was discovered. You may hear the same stories, 
and therefore I send you the contradiction of them. 

Yours ever, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



REV. DR. BUCHANAN TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Kirby Hall, August 6, 1812. 

My dear Sir, 

I was favoured with your letter this morning, and 
now enclose a letter for Lord Liverpool, which I shall 
be obliged to you to transmit with the paper. The sum 
applied for in behalf of Mr. W. was 200/. We request 
that you will not notice the subscription : it is not of 
your class — sacred necessity. I smiled at your saying 
that " you do not lay by any thing." I was rather afraid 
that your unexampled charity would bring you into 
debt. 

I smiled again when you said you hoped to get through 
your mass of papers at Sandgate, and be once more a 
liber homo ; as if there could be any possible hope of your 
being a free man in this world. 

I returned from Scarborough a few days ago. I had 
proposed to have passed into the West, but the agitation 
of the carriage is too much for me in my present state ; 
I am, however, benefited by the warm baths of Scar-^ 



99 

b{>rough. Good Serle, I see by this day's paper, is gone 
to his town Immanuel. "We are all well here, and pray 
that you may have divine support and comfort in all 
your tribulation, till that blessed day when you also (a 
liber homo) shall 

Clap the glad wing- and soar away, 
And mingle with eternal day. 

If you go before me, let your mantle drop on your ser- 
vant, 

C. BUCHAICAN^. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MISS WILBERFORCE. 

liUtterworth, October 16, 1812. 

My dearest B., 

I am much pressed for time to-day ; but I must 
send an answer, though a short one,'to my dear girl's 
highly acceptable letter, for I do not consider as a reply 
the few lines which I added to my letter to mamma two 
or three days ago. While I am rambling about from 
place to place my heart still keeps its station ; and, strange 
as it may seem, a certain little girl has such a firm hold 
on my affection, that wherever I am, she is continually 
presenting herself to my mind's eye, and calling forth 
the most tender wishes for her happiness. The day, I 
trust, will come, when she will be able to travel about 
with me, not merely in idea, but in her own person. 
Meanwhile, we should be thankful for having the means 
of hearing about those we love when we are far removed 
from them. We are now almost two hundred miles 
asunder, yet I trust B. will be reading this the day after 
to-n?orrow, at about the same time of day at which I am 
now writing it. I trust that all my children, especially 
the elder ones, are more eminently careful when I am 
away, to abstain from all that would give mamma pain, 
and to do whatever will give her pleasure, in order to 
make up to her for my absence. May God bless my 
dear children, and more particularly my dear little girl. 



100 

How ardently do I long to see clear and indubitable 
proofs of your having received that divine grace v^hich 
we must all possess before we can be admitted into the 
heavenly world. In you, and in my other children, I 
am always looking to discover any buddings of that fruit 
of the Spirit which this blessed agent will produce where 
it really operates, just as a gardener looks over his fruit 
trees from day to day to see whether the peaches and the 
nectarines are beginning to appear. I trust I do dis- 
cern, now and then, a bud in my beloved child's heart. 
Oh! cherish it, my dearest child, and try to prevent 
its being nipped or blasted, so as not to come to per- 
fection. 

I fear I am not likely to become an entertaining cor- 
respondent ; it is, however, for a reason which will plead 
my excuse, — it is because I love her too well not to feel 
a serious concern for her happiness whenever I think 
about her. To a common correspondent I could scribble 
in a facetious strain, and I will try to be more lively in 
my letters to you, but I recollect that this packet will 
reach you on Sunday, and therefore I need not check 
the natural feelings of my heart, which to-day will har- 
monize with those of my dear girl. I have given you 
the time which was due to some other correspondents, 
but I have been drawn on ; and now that I am no longer 
M. P. for Yorkshire, I hope to be able to allot much 
more, both of my time and my thoughts, to my children. 
Once more, may God bless you. 

Ever your most affectionate 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



LORD BATHURST, TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed, " Lord Buthurst about Mr. Kendal : good-humoured fun. 
I had told him that I wished to make sure lest he should be turned out.") 

Downing Street, November 13, 1812. 
Dear Wilberforce, 

I received your letter when I was at Brighton, 
where I had gone for a few days to see Lady Bathurst. 



101 

I enclose a letter in form, such as I imagine you wish : 
although I must say you explained your reason for ask- 
ing for such a document in too plain a way. There is 
nothing so disgusting to a Secretary of State as to talk 
to him of the probability of his going out. (Your wish 
was not father, I hope, to that thought.) But to hold 
this language in the dreary month of November, on 
the eve of the meeting of parliament, was most incon- 
siderate. 

Yours ever sincerely, 

Bathurst. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. 

Kensington Gore, Friday, December 11, 1812. 

My dear Macaulay, 

I return you 's paper,* regretting sincerely 

that I cannot add to it, but really I have not the faculty 
of writing with facility any thing that is fit to be read, 
and it is still more difficult to interweave any additions 
into the finished work of another than to write a fresh 
piece. 

There is however one idea, one doubt, which I ought 
to state to you. 

We who know well, can have no doubt of his 

having treated Miss Edgeworth's entire exclusion of all 
religious principle with the softness, sometimes almost 
the easy badinage of his reproofs, from a persuasion that 
the real operating drug in the composition would be 
least likely to turn the stomach, or rather would sit the 
best on it when so mixed up and qualified. But should 
not this be stated frankly in the close, either by the 
writer of the article himself or by you? It might be 
done in the very way I have mentioned. You might 
state, — In all compound medicines the physician com- 
monly depends on some one powerful drug to do the 

* Vide Review of Edgeworth's Tales of Fashionable Life. Christian 
Observer, December, 1812. 

9*^ 



103 

business, considering how he may so combine it with 
other ingredients as to render the patient most willing, 
or rather most able to bear it ; or, to speak more plainly, 
as will either render it less nauseous to the palate or 
least offensive to the stomach. We conceive that the 
writer of the foregoing article has acted on a similar 
principle, &c. I almost fear the piece would otherwise 
be objectionable, on the ground of levity, or rather on 
'' that of the want of sufficient seriousness. Yet I have 
only read it once over, and that, of necessity, by fits and 
starts. You know it better than I, and will judge better 
whether or not my criticism is well founded. I assure 
you it often grieves me to reflect that I am not a con- 
tributor of any thing better than good wishes to the 
Christian Observer, and I will be something better by 
and by if I can ; but if, while M. P. for Yorkshire, I had 
much more than I could do, I am sure, I have at pre- 
sent full as much, and hitherto the difference is not so 
great as you might suppose. It is in the spring that the 
chief difference will be experienced. Did you hear of 
Mr. Protheroe's speech the other night? — extremely good 
indeed — farewell. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLEERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE, TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, April 12, 1813. 

My dear Friend, 

I hope you will think w6 have done wonders in 
Bristol, considering the shortness of the time. I next 
thought of Manchester. I named to a very sensible 
neighbour, Mrs. Quincy, late of Manchester, your idea 
about getting petitions for christianizing India ; she sent 
me the enclosed, desiring me to get a frank and send it, 
but we are both so afraid we have not exactly met your 
wishes that I think it safer to trouble you to read it. 

I think it will give you pleasure to hear that I have 
had a warm and most friendly letter from a certain 



103 

episcopal preceptor, to inform me that he has just made 
his illustrious pupil read through with him " a certain 
two volumes, written some years ago, for her imme- 
diate instruction ;" that " she read it with the deepest 
attention, and constantly expressed the highest appro- 
bation." 

It gives me pleasure to know,. before I die, that the 
book has not been written altogether in vain, and that 
the Bishop had the wisdom to keep it back till she was 
of an age to understand it. I implore you to keep this to 
yourself. It would be highly improper that it should 
come from me, nor have I written a word of it to any 
body. 

My health is very bad — surely this tough body can- 
not much longer hold out against such repeated attacks. 
Pray for me that the soul may prosper and be in health, 
but it is sadly clogged by its suffering companion. 

Yours ever, my dear friend, 

H. More. 



ALEXANDER KNOX, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ, 

February 26, 1813. 

My dear Sir, 

I received your letter the day before yesterday, 
and would have despatched what you wished for yester- 
day, but could not get it out of the hands of the book- 
seller until yesterday evening, it having been necessary 
to soften a glued back which it had, to make it fit for 
the mail bag. I hope to send it to-night 

I wish I could at this moment make any plain and 
brief observation that might assist you in the important 
investigation which engages your mind. I doubt, how- 
ever, whether time may not be yet amply before you, as 
the pains the leaders of the Roman CathoHcs have taken 
to make themselves and their followers be suspected of 
dangerous views can hardly have failed to turn against 
them several of their former advocates, and consequently 
to produce an unfavourable decision. If it prove other- 



104 

wise, I shall be surprised ; and if the liberality, thui? 
evinced, be attended with proportionate caution and 
deliberation, I shall be highly gratified. 

Your feeling with me on " the grand argument" 
gives me much pleasure. I myself am by no means 
sure that certain exclusions may not, at least for the 
present, be matter of strict expediency. The places of 
cabinet ministers, of chancellor, of lord lieutenant, and 
chief secretary of Ireland, of commanders-in-chief, by 
sea or land, ought to be in no hands whose attachment 
to the whole existing constitution can be justly suspected. 
I do not feel in the same way respecting privy counsel- 
lors. There is, no doubt, something imposing in the 
name ; but is it not magni nominis umbra— a. privy 
counsellor being in reahty no more intrusted with the 
King's secrets than any other member of parliament ? 
My principle respecting their degree of admission is 
simply this ; I would give them every thing that could 
magnetize them, and nothing that could injure us. 

In balancing the account between these two results, 
I should decide very differently, if I considered the 
Roman Catholic religion to be stationary. Were this 
my persuasion, my fears would be far more on the alert. 
But most deeply and deliberately considering it as a 
declining religion, I wish a safe direction to be given to 
its slow but certain movement. I think if we do not 
repel the Roman Catholic body, it will approximate to 
us ; and perhaps at no great distance of time, exhibit 
the phenomenon of a new reformation. I acknowledge 
that my political solicitudes are chiefly kept awake by 
this moral anticipation; and I should rather see dangers 
boldly faced (though in reality I think there are no new 
dangers to be reckoned on)* than that obstacles should 
be left in the way of a consummation so devoutly to be 
wished for. 

I should therefore wish that Roman Catholics possess- 
ing lay patronage in the establishment should be allowed 
themselves to exercise the power of presenting. To 

* That is supposing the exclusion for a time from high executive 
offices, as advised in the preceding page. — (Note by Mr. Knox.) 



105 

deprive them would keep up the old enmity ; to allow 
their presenting would, in spite of themselves, familiarize 
them, and at length attach them. And, then, consider ; 
what hurt could they do '? The Roman Catholic is not 
like the Arian or Socinian, whose errors from their 
strictly mental nature admit of being concealed, and 
stealthily diffused. The Roman Catholic must avow 
himself. His religion admits of no compromise. It 
distinguishes itself from ours much more in outward 
observances than in inward principles ; and it insists on 
ail its distinctions with unyielding severity. Truth, 
therefore, may be undermined by error where the 
emissary can wear a mask ; but when to wear a mask 
would be, ipso facto, to renounce that for whose sake it 
is supposed to be worn, whatever we may have still to 
fear from open attack, we have little to apprehend from 
deep-laid treachery. 

What I mean plainly to say is, that no secret partisan 
of the Church of Rome could take orders or officiate in 
ours. The thing itself, I dare to say, is impossible. 
The utmost in this way which could take place, would 
be a proselyte's delaying his open profession, until he 
had published something which his antecedent character 
might procure a reading for, while the avowal of the 
new character would infallibly deter. I imagine we 
have just one instance of this — in a work called an 
" Essay toward a Proposal for Catholic Communion." 
But no one could be deceived by it. In truth, the very 
moment in which any one attempted to act on that side, 
would be also the moment of infallible detection. The 
ass would appear under the lion's skin. Thus when 
Parker, Bishop of Oxford, began to take the side of 
James II. against his Protestant brethren, it could not 
be concealed for a moment. Every one saw immediately 
what was in his view ; and he was animadverted on ac- 
cordingly, by those who had engaged as champions for 
Protestantism. 

My conclusion from these premises is, that Roman^ 
Catholics possessing church patronage could have no 
motive to use that power in any way different from 



106 

patrons generally. Patrons must present Church of 
England men, or at least those who are willing to ap- 
pear such ; which it is morally impossible any Roman 
Catholic should be. As I said, an Arian, a Socinian, a 
Swedenborgian may wear the livery of our establish- 
ment. But to a Roman Catholic it would be infinitely 
worse than Saul's armour was to David. 

When the choice, then, made by Roman Catholics 
must be, by the nature of things, confined to Church of 
England clergymen, and when it is utterly unlikely that 
their choice should be systematically worse than that 
of others, why should we tremble at giving Roman 
Catholics a privilege which is possessed by Dissenters, 
Arians, Socinians, Deists, and even Jews, without as yet 
awaking a sense of danger by any ostensible mischief? 
Lay patronage is too likely in any case to be secularly 
exercised ; but to my understanding, not more likely in 
a Roman Catholic gentleman than in a Protestant chan- 
cellor. Conscientious cbnsiderations might influence 
the Roman Catholic. In proportion as he was religious 
in his own way, he would like to prefer a religious man. 
But court patronage seldom adverts to niceties of per- 
sonal character. It turns on another point, and is fixed 
by other attractions ; I own, therefore, on the whole, I 
can imagine no possible bad consequences from Roman 
Catholics being patrons, as well as others ; and I can 
conceive good consequences, namely, greater conscien- 
tiousness, and growing conciliation. 

When I say that the Roman CathoHc religion is de- 
clining, I do not mean that individuals are deserting it, 
but that its external professors are losing their respect 
for it. For example, both priests and laics who regard 
their religion would assure you, that scarcely any of the 
present declaimers have any real value for the principles 
which they affect to contend for. Some of them are 
notorious scoffers at all religion. If things continue as 
they are, these characters must multiply, were it only 
from the increasing custom of sending their sons, when 
meant for a profession, to our University. The course 
of education there cannot but enlarge their views, and 



107 

induce a habit of judging boldly and decisively on all 
subjects. Before this exercise of mind their own religion 
cannot stand. While it is to be contended for pohtically, 
they will contend for it ; but at the same instant it will 
be the object of their scorn. The only means, therefore, 
of avoiding the impending infidelity which this state of 
things portends, will be to withdraw the revolting bar- 
Tier which now obstructs their view of our Church, or 
rather suffers them to see all that can alienate, and 
nothing that can engage. While they suffer felt priva- 
tions avowedly for the sake of the establishment, this 
enmity must continue, and while it continues, all their 
prejudices must remain. The national Church must be 
observed, and thought of in one way or the other. Its 
magnitude and ostensible movements insure this ; and 
therefore, if the ever-recurring thought be accompanied 
by no other but painful associations, the result must be 
settled, unremitting, unappeasable malignity, and that 
strongest where there are amplest means of doing mis- 
chief. 

On the other hand, do away the privations, and the 
estabhshed religion will become in its proportion an ob- 
ject of fair and philosophical inquiry. Thus contem- 
plated, it will be seen that the same generic features are 
apparent in both churches ; and these great points will 
seem supported by a concurrent testimony, deriving 
much additional strength from circumstantial discord- 
ance. In matters respecting which the two Churches 
differ, their doubts will, of course, increase ; but in mat- 
ters respecting which they agree, it may be hoped they 
will feel the greatest possible confirmation : thus the 
evil will be prevented which has been so prevalent in 
countries purely Roman CathoHc. There, religion ap- 
pearing in the one form only, there was no opportunity 
for instructive comparison^ and to reject the tenets of 
their Church was to plunge at once into the gulf of 
infidelity. In this country there is a promise of better 
things, if the means which Providence has furnished are 
suffered to operate. If we only let our Church unveil 
itself, and cast aw^ay the worse than goatskin covering 



108 

of penal statutes, it will not fail to attract and to conci- 
liate, in proportion as reason and taste create a faculty 
of discrimination. 

I intimated, already, that it was not multiplied prose- 
lytism that I looked forward to ; but an internal reform- 
ation of the Irish Roman CathoHc Church. I am aware 
that this is an idea liable to be thought fanciful ; but the 
more I see of passing events, the stronger conviction I 
feel, that if room be left for growing tendencies to take 
their natural course, such a crisis must, at no great dis- 
tance of time, infallibly take place. Proselytism there 
no doubt will be, and so numerous, probably, as to force 
the heads of the Roman Cathohc Church to adroit 
changes, in order to prevent the total dissolution of their 
system. These changes, I conceive, will in the first in- 
stance be the dropping the Latin service, and the giving 
the sacrament in both kinds. But these will not be 
introduced without concomitants; and if enmity shall 
have previously passed away, our Church will be looked 
to as a model in whatever alterations shall be made, till, 
at length, gradual assimilation on their part will end in 
the coalescence of both. 

I could enumerate prognostics of the event which I am 
imagining. I could show that the opinions of Roman 
Catholic divines respecting the salvability of Protestants 
has materially advanced during the last hundred, or 
hundred and fifty years ; and that though the doctrine 
of the Church remains avowedly unaltered, the mode of 
explaining that doctrine has undergone an important 
change in various instances : for example, it is evident 
that the worship of images, and prayers to the Virgin 
and saints, are at this day as much as possible explained 
away; and that the practices would willingly be dropped 
if it could be done without acknowledgment of error. 
These tendencies cannot but go on, and they must at 
length ripen into substantial results, though it is not for 
us to know the times and the seasons. 

These last-mentioned circumstances are of a general 
nature : Ireland exhibits not a few peculiar to herself. 
A practice has grown up within the last twenty years, 



109 

of preaching almost as many charity sermons in Roman 
Catholic chapels as in our churches. There is an imi- 
tation of every charitable institution of ours which has 
MIND for its object ; and these establishments can only 
be maintained by public collections. To such sermons 
Protestants are numerously invited, particularly as col- 
lectors ; a consequence of which is, that in common 
courtesy, and for the sake of the object, nothing must 
be said offensive to Protestant feelings. But as the best 
preachers are employed on these occasions, a general 
habit of uncontroversial preaching will gradually come 
into fashion : besides, accustoming themselves thus to 
see us intermingled with themselves, at their own in- 
stance, in their places of w^orship, they must, in spite of 
themselves, feel toward us as fellow-christians, which 
feeling alone, active causes of mutual hostility once re- 
moved, must lead to growing good-will, and ultimate 
connection. 

A still stronger influence is arising from increase of 
knowledge, extension of education, and the unrestrained 
reading of the Scriptures. The heads of the Roman 
Catholic Church are endeavouring to regulate this last- 
mentioned practice, by publishing as abundantly as 
possible, their own translation ; but they would be wiser 
for their cause if they suffered ours to be read without 
animadversion. The established translation is too well 
known to be kept out of view ; and the differences be- 
tween the two will be observed, and will stimulate 
curiosity; besides, persons of taste and discernment 
will see the superiority of our translation in smoothness 
and elegance. A certain liberty of mind wall thus gra- 
dually, perhaps speedilyssbe formed, which will call for 
other methods of management than those hitherto relied 
upon ; and the heads of the Roman Catholic Church in 
Ireland will be reduced to the alternative of new-modi- 
fying their system, or losing their flock. 

A circumstance bearing with some weight on this 
point is, that the Roman Catholic clergy are themselves 
differently affected respecting these subjects ; some are 
more liberal ; others less. As an evidence of liberality, 

VOL. II, 10 



110 

I can state from a document now before me, that in an 
extensive charity school in this city, supported and 
superintended by Protestants, in which 800 children are 
taught, the Bible is uniformly read; and yet in the 
book in which visiters make remarks, there have been 
within the last year testimonials expressed in the 
strongest terms from Roman CathoHc priests, and one 
testimonial from a Roman Catholic bishop. 

" I visited this school," says one of the priests, Oct. 19, 
1812, "and am so much delighted with its admirable 
system, that on the same, two schools, one for boys and 
the other for girls, will be erected in parish." 

The Roman Catholic bishop's testimonial is, " I have 
been highly gratified on this day, in observing the 
manner in which this school is conducted, and do 
think the master highly meritorious for his mode of 
conducting it." 

There is, therefore, you may perceive, nothing Hke a 
systematic opposition to advancing knowledge ; and on 
the contrary, in some a disposition to meet and cherish 
it. But these are still only commencing habits : what, 
then, must they not come to, if irritation should once 
give place to mutual good temper, and if oblivion of 
political differences were permitted to smooth the path 
toward religious agreement? 

You may have observed, in reading the foregoing pa- 
ragraphs, that I dwell upon a probable, or rather morally 
certain, improvement of the Roman Catholic system, 
rather than an express adoption of ours. I do so be- 
cause I hold the latter to be out of all reckoning, and 
the aiming at it to have been the grand mistake during 
the last hundred years. In the course of that period 
what has been accomplished by penal statutes, pension- 
ing of proselyted priests, and supporting Protestant 
charily schools ? No doubt Providence has secured its 
own ends in them all, but the intention of their projectors 
has been perfectly defeated. To follow Providence is 
always the wisest course; and without the special order 
of Providence, a regular Roman Catholic hierarchy 
could never have remained to this day in Ireland. 



Ill 

Having, then, before us a pecfectly organized Church, 
whose formation at the first, and still more its sustenance 
to this hour, never could be the mere result of human 
will, and whose dissolution we, at least, have no means 
of achieving, why should we not set ourselves as much 
as possible to meliorate what, in fact, we cannot destroy ? 
As long as the latter object was hoped for, pains and 
penalties were fair expressions of that hope ; but if the 
aim at gradual melioration appear at length more rea- 
sonable, to set those we wish to work upon at their ease 
will be as congenial to the new process, as restrictions 
and privations were to the old. 

Mosheim, a sharp-sighted observer, gives this defini- 
tion of the Anglican Church : — Ilia veteris religionis 
correctio qucB Britannos cBque a pontificiis, atque a reliquis 
familiis quce Pontificis dominationi renimciarunt, sejun- 
giV^ How far the equidistance is truly asserted, I will 
not take upon me to pronounce ; but to my mind, the 
idea of veteris religionis correctio is so critically just, that 
the Roman Catholic religion, rationally reformed, would 
substantially be the religion of the Church of England. 
That it would become so at once, I do not suppose ; but 
that it would gradually advance toward it, until Provi- 
dence saw fit to terminate the process, I no more ques- 
tion, were hinderances removed, than that a heavy body 
would fall when no longer supported. 

Where, then, I would ask, is the real danger of setting 
forward these hopeful tendencies by a liberal repeal of 
all that could irritate? Is fear entertained that the 
Roman Catholic Church of Ireland might at length sup- 
plant ours, and become the established religion of Ire- 
land ? This is impossible. The Roman Catholic church 
would shrink from any such' connection with a Pro- 
testant* government as establishment would necessarily 
imply. To retain its religious independence is essential 
to its integrity as Roman Catholic. As a church, there- 
fore, it never can aspire to so fatal a distinction. To 

* The Roman Catholic Church has since been established by the King- 
of Prussia in Westphalia — with what result is well known. 



112 

consent to receive honours and ennolunfients from a Pro- 
testant state, would be to sign its own spiritual death- 
warrant. It may be brought gradually to be what this 
would make it, by the sun shining on it after so long and 
so cold a winter. But while unlike us, it would refuse 
to take our place, and in proportion as it becomes like 
us, it will not aim at supplantation, but rather at co- 
incorporation. 

I fear I have taken up too much of your time, and 
perhaps to little satisfactory purpose ; I must now close 
my letter without reading it over, or lose this evening's 
mail. 

Ever vours, 

Alexander Knox. 



JOHN BOWDLER, ESQ., JUN., TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Widley, March 23, 1813. 

My dear Sir, 

I meant to have returned the enclosed, and to 
have thanked you for your kind letter as long ago as 

Saturday, but I have been prevented. To dear ■ — 

I had written almost immediately on hearing of his 
affliction ; but I directed my letter to Grosvenor Square, 
and perhaps it has not been forwarded. I greatly love 
and admire him. 

I agree with you on the Catholic question, and should 
have voted as you have done. I believe that we are 
even of the same opinion as to all the details of the 
question. I do not wonder that you should feel a little 
distressed at finding yourself differing from many excel- 
lent men on this question ; yet I do not know why they 
should be better judges in politics than in law, and I 
am sure I should not feel uneasy at differing from all 
the good men in the kingdom in the construction of an 
act of parliament. Piety is not a security for a perfect 
correctness of judgment even in religious questions ; 
witness Luther's strange reasoning, and still stranger 
conduct, about the sacrament ; as well as thousands of 



113 

other instances that would occur to a person well ac- 
quainted with the history of Christianity, faster than he 
could write them. Liherari animam meam is all the 
wisest of us can reach. 

Knox's letter is very eloquent and instructive. I cannot 
help thinking that his view of the subject is nnore just as 
well as more liberal than that of many good men in this 
country, who seem to think of the Catholic Church as 
Mr. Burke did of Jacobinism, that " it is pure de- 
phlegmated defecated evil," incapable of any ameliora- 
tion. All general principles are against this, and I think, 
too, the history of that church itself. There was a 
greater distance between a furious Italian bigot and the 
Jansenists, than between tlie, Jansenists and the best Pro- 
testants. Yet I confess I startle at Knox's idea of giving 
to the papist gentry the enjoyment of church patronage. 
It seems to me to involve almost an absurdity, nor do I 
see how a conscientious Roman Catholic could exercise 
the right, or wish to possess it. What Knox says about 
the nature of popery consisting in externals is doubt- 
less in part true ; yet I suspect that Father Escobar, or 
Vasquez, or any of Pascal's heroes, would have both 
accepted Protestant preferment, and found means to 
lead their flock more than half way to popery, without 
incurring any ecclesiastical censures, still less deprivation. 
Surely, too, Mr. Knox is on very delicate and dangerous 
ground, when he talks of the Romish hierarchy having 
been preserved by Providence through so many ages in 
Ireland. I remember the same argument being used 
by one who had little religion, in favour of all the abo- 
minations embodied under the name of religion in India. 
Providence, he said, had given them their religion as 
He had given us ours. 

I wish to add one v^^ord about myself You were 
kind enough to mention, without disapprobation, some 
religious papers which I sent to " The Christian Ob- 
server." I have since, as perhaps you have seen, written 
others. I thought myself only known to a very few 
intimate friends, but have just now discovered that the 
name of the author has been mentioned very openly. 

10* 



114 

I have really always felt that I was guilty of some pre^ 
sumption in venturing to write on religious subjects, 
and cannot but feel that many who see these papers, on 
hearing that they were written by a young layman, will 
probably think, and perhaps say, that he would have 
been much better employed in learning and practising 
than in attempting to teach. I am not sure whether 
on these and other accounts I shall not discontinue 
these communications ; but whether I do or not, may I 
hope that at least you and Mrs. W. will believe, that in 
writing these papers I was not actuated by vanity, still 
less that I indulge the least idea of being better qualified 
than hundreds of others to publish on religious topics. 
My real motives it would require space to explain fully; 
but my own exercise and improvement was the chief. 
My only apology is, that a mask generally is understood 
to confer a right, even to the humblest individual, of 
speaking with some freedom. My value for your good 
opinion has induced me to say thus much — and pray 
forgive my egotism. I am pretty well, and begging you 
to present my best respects to Mrs. W., am. 

Dear Sir, 
Ever your affectionate servant, 

J. BOWDLER. 



REV. DR. COKE TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

At Samuel Hague's, Esq. 
Leeds, April 14, 1813. 

Dear and highly respected Sir, 

A subject which appears to me of great moment 
lies much upon my mind; and yet it is a subject of such 
a deUcate nature, that I cannot venture to open my mind 
upon it to any one, of whose candour, piety, delicacy, 
and honour, I have not the highest opinion. Such a 
character I do indubitably esteem you, sir ; and as such, 
I will run the risk of opening my whole heart to you 
upon the point. 

For at least twelve years, sir, the interests of our 



115 

Indian empire have lain very near my heart. In several 
instances I have made attempts to open a way for mis- 
sions in that country, and even for my going over there 
myself. But every thing proved abortive. 

The prominent desire of my soul, even from my infancy 
(I may almost say), has been to be useful. Even when 
I was a Deist for part of my time at Oxford, (what a 
miracle of grace !) usefulness was my most darling ob- 
ject. The Lord has been pleased to fix me for about 
thirty-seven years on a point of great usefulness. My 
influence in the large Wesleian connection, the introduc- 
tion and superintendence of our missions in different 
parts of the globe, and the wide sphere opened to me for 
the preaching of the Gospel to almost innumerable large 
and attentive congregations, have opened to me a very 
extensive field for usefulness. And yet I could give up 
all for India. Could I but close my life in being the 
means of raising a spiritual church in India, it would 
satisfy the utmost ambition of my soul here below. 

I am not so much wanted in our connection at home 
as I once was. Our committee of privileges, as we term 
it, can watch over the interests of the body, in respect 
to laws and government, as well in my absence as if I 
was with them. Our missionary committee in London 
can do the same in respect to missions ; and my ab- 
sence would only make them feel their duty more 
incumbent upon them. Auxiliary committees through 
the nation (which we have now in contemplation) will 
amply supply my place in respect to raising money. 
There is nothing to influence me much against going 
to India, but my extensive sphere for preaching the 
Gospel. But this, I do assure you, sir, sinks conside- 
rably in my calculation, in comparison of the high ho- 
nour (if the Lord was to confer it upon me in His Pro- 
vidence and grace) of beginning or reviving a genuine 
work of religion in the immense regions of Asia. 

Impressed with these views, I wrote a letter about a 
fortnight ago to the Earl of Liverpool. I have either 
mislaid the copy of it, or destroyed it at the time, for 
fear of its falHng into improper hands. After an intro- 



116 

duction, drawn up in the most delicate manner in my 
power, I took notice of the observations made by Lord 
Castlereagh in the House of Commons, concerning a 
reh'gious establishment in India connected with the estab- 
lished church at home. I then simply opened my situ- 
ation in the Wesleian connection, as I have stated it to 
you, sir, above. I enlarged on the earnest desire I 
had of closing my life in India, observing that if his 
Royal Highness the Prince Regent and the government 
should think proper to appoint me their Bishop in India, 
I should most cheerfully and most gratefully accept of 
the offer. I am sorry 1 have lost, the copy of tl^e letter. 
In my letter to Lord Liverpool, I observed, that I should,^ 
in case of my appointment to the Episcopacy of Indi%, 
refurn most lully and faithfully into the bo^prn of the 
established church, and do every thing in my power to 
proinote its interests, and woq,ld submit to all sucK re- 
strictions in the fulfilment of my office, as the govern- 
ment and the bench of bishops at home should think 
"^eceS^aTy^^that my prime motive was to be useful to 
t]fe~JEurO]3eans in India; and that my second (though 
not the least) was to introduce the Christian religion 
among the Hindoos by the preaching of the Gospel^^nd 
"perhaps also, by the establishment of schoolsr ' 
"'I have not, sir, received an answer. Did I think that 
the answer was withheld, because Lord Liverpool con- 
sidered me as acting very improperly by making the 
request, I should take no further step in the business. 
This may be the case ; but his Lordship's silence may 
arise from other motives : on the one hand, because he 
did not choose to send me an absolute refusal; and, on 
the other hand, because he did not see it proper, at least 
just now, to give me any encouragement. When I was 
in some doubt this morning whether I ought to take the 
liberty of writing to you, my mind became determined 
on my being informed about three hours ago, that in a 
letter received from you by Mr. Hey, you observed 
that the generality of the House of Commons were set 
against granting any thing of an imperative kind to the 
Dissenters or Methodists in. favour of sending missiona- 



117 

ries to India. Probably I may err in respect to the 
exact words which you used. 

I am not conscious, my dear2es£eptei sir, that the 
least degree of ambition influences me in this business. 
I possess a fortune of about 1 '^00/. a-yeay, which is suf- 
jficienOQ fear.my^t^^^ and to enable -ma 

to make many charitable donations. I have lost two 
3ear wives, and am now a Hidow^^^^^^ OuHaaSiagllrleads 
through the connectiori receive me and treat me with the 
utmost respect and hospitality. J am quite surrounded 
with friends who greatly love me ; but India still cleaves 
to niy heart. I sincerely believe that my strong inclina- 
tions to spend the remainder of my life in India origi- 
nates in the Divine Will, whilst I am called upon to use 
threr§'ecotida,fy means to obtain the end. 

TTiFvefbfhied an intimate acquaintance with Dr. 
Buchanan, and have written to him to inform him that 
I shall make him a visit within a few days, if it be con- 
venient. From his house I intend, Deo volente, to return 
to Leeds for a day, and then to set off next week for 
London. The latter end of last November I visited him 
before, at Moat Hall, his place of residence, and a most 
pleasant visit it was to me, and also to him I have 
reason to think. He has been, since I saw him, drinking 
of the same bitter cup of which I have been drinking, 
by the loss of a beloved wife. 

I would just observe, sir, that a hot climate peculiarly 
agrees with me. I was never better in my life than in 
the West Indies, during the four visits I made to that 
archipelago, and sho'uld now prefer the torrid zone, as 
ji climate, to any other part of the world. Indeed, I 
enjoy in this country, though sixty-five years of age, , 
such an uninterrupted flow of health and strength asv 
astonishes all my acquaintance. They commonly observe 
that they have perceived no difference in me for these 
last twenty years. 

I would observe, sir, as I did at the commencement 
of my letter, that I throw myself on your candour, piety, 
and honour. If I do not succeed in my views of India, 
and it were known among the preachers that I had 






118 

been taking the steps I am now taking, (though from a 
persuasion that I am in the Divine Will in so doing,) 
it might more or less affect my usefulness in the vine- 
yard of my Lord, ar^d that would very much afflict me. 
And yet, notwithstanding this, I cannot satisfy myself 
without making some advances in the business. 

I consider, sir, your brother-in-law, Mr. Stephen, to 
be a man of eminent worth. I have a very high esteem 
for him. I know that his yea is yea, and what he pro- 
mises he certainly will perform. Without some promise 
of confidence he might (if he were acquainted with the 

present business) mention it to Mr. , with whom, 

I know, Mr. Stephen is acquainted. If Mr. were 

acquainted with the steps I am taking, he would, I am 
nearly sure, call immediately a meeting of our committee 
of privileges, and the consequence might be unfavourable 
to my influence, and consequently to my usefulness 
among the Methodists. But my mind must be eased. 
I must venture this letter, and leave the whole to God, 
and under Him, sir, to you. 

I have reason to believe that Lord Eldon had (indeed 
I am sure of it,) and probably now has, an esteem for 
me. Lord Sidmouth, I do think, loves me. Lord Cas- 
tlereagh once expressed to Mr. Alexander Knox, then 
his private secretary in Ireland, his very high regard 
for me : since that time I have had one interview with 
his lordship in London. I have been favoured on va- 
rious occasions with public and private interviews with 
Lord Bathurst. I shall be glad to have your advice 
whether I should write letters to those noblemen, par- 
ticularly to the two first, on the present subject ; or 
whether I had not better suspend every thing, and have 
the pleasure of seeing you in London. I hope I shall 
have that honour. I shall be glad to receive three or 
four lines from you (don't wTite unless you think it may 
be of some immediate importance,) signifying that I may 
wait on you immediately on my arrival in London. 

I have the honour to be, with very high respect, 
My dear Sir, your very much obliged, 

very humble, and very faithful servant, 

T. Coke. 



119 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 

Kensington Gore, Wednesday, May 26, 1813. 

My dear Lord Wellesley, 

After assuring you that it has given me pleasure 
to hear of your amended health, allow me to beg the 
favour of you to give me, or kindly inform me how I 
can procure, your letter concerning the Calcutta College. 
You were so good, I think, long ago as to give me a 
copy of it ; but though my old stores have been dili- 
gently ransacked, it cannot be found ; and as the East 
Indian question is coming on so soon, I greatly wish to 
see it. I shall be extremely glad if I can be at all 
useful in promoting the restoration of the college to its 
old, and I must think necessary, splendour. 

Permit me to trouble your Lordship on one more 
topic. The widow of Mr. Brown of Calcutta,* with her 
eight children all unprovided for, is come over to this 
country. I find her late husband, had he lived, or 
ratherj believe had his provostship lasted only about 
^^la.j\[e3.r}oi\ger, would.have been entitled to half pay 
&£Jifei.I rather think to half or one-third of his form.er 
salary. ~*W1ien you honoured him with the appointment 
to the office of provost of the college, he gave up. 70.Q4 
per annum, arisinp: from the discharge of his ordinary 
proiessional duties ; and he could not recover this in- 
come when his office of provost was suppressed. This 
corisideratTon surely strengthens his claim, while it does 
away the fear which might otherwise oppose Mrs. 
Brown's being liberally recom^pensed, that it might set 
a dangerous precedent. If you can serve this desolate 

* The Rev. Dr. Brown was one of the East India Company's chaplains, 
of eminent piety, and of so great liberality that he has been known to 
bestow in charity an entire quarter's salary at one time. Though his 
family was left " unprovided for" by Mr. Brown, He who has called him- 
self the " Father of the fatherless" raised up friends for them, by whose 
kindness they were all placed in circumstances of independence to such 
a degree that it was a matter of regret with people of the world lest 
others should thereby be encouraged to be equally careless. 



120 

family, I am sure it will give your Lordship pleasure ; 
and I am always, with great respect and regard, 
My dear Lord Wellesley, 

Your Lordship's very sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

P. S. I am told that Mrs. Brown's case will be de- 
cided soon, so that no time should be lost in counte- 
nancing her. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. 

No. 1. Poet's Corner, Westminster, 
May 28, 1813. 

Sir, 

I trust you will excuse my taking the liberty of 
requesting you to inform me, where the fact concerning 
Albuquerque's being thanked by the widows of Hindos- 
tan, for saving them from the flames, is to be found. It 
is mentioned in an article on the Baptist Missionary 
Reports, and in the first number of the " Quarterly Re- 
view," which article is commonly ascribed to you. 

May I take the further liberty of stating that you 
would oblige me greatly, and (what I doubt not would 
be a far more powerful motive) you would, I hope, 
render some service to the cause of East Indian civiliza- 
tion, if you could communicate to me any other facts or 
suggestions which tend to prove either the duty, (duty 
includes humanity,) practicability, or policy of endea- 
vouring (of course by persuasion only) to christianize 
the natives of Hindostan. I mean, in addition to what 
are contained in the article above mentioned. Though 
of necessity I am scribbling in the utmost extremity 
of haste (you will forgive the effects of it,) I cannot 
conclude without expressing how much I owe you for 
the various writings with which you have favoured 
the present age ; and I must add, that I have felt a 
ready-made friendship for you, ever since I knew the 
anecdote of your kindness in fostering and soothing 



121 

the wounded spirit and infant efforts of that most in- 
teresting of creatures, Kirk White, of whom it was my 
misfortune to know little more" than his name till I read 
your beautiful life of him. 

I remain with cordial respect and regard, 

Dear Sir, your most obhged and humble servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

p. S. I have long had it in my mind to write to you, 
but the consciousness that I was taking perhaps an un- 
warrantable liberty has kept me silent, till it is perhaps 
too late to answer my purpose to speak at all. 

Such is the too common issue of procrastination. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. 

London, July 5, 1813. 

Dear Sir, 

I have been very unjust to myself in so long de- 
laying to return you, as I now do, my best thanks for 
your obliging, and I can truly assure you, most gratify- 
ing letter. My dilatoriness might convey a very erro- 
neous notion of the feelings it called forth ; for though 
that vexatious succession of petty interruptions, of which 
in your country residence you happily know nothing, 
has concurred with serious business and domestic occu- 
pations in keeping me silent, I have quite longed, ever 
since I heard from you, to assure you that the sort of 
right you give me, to avail myself of any opportunity 
which I may hereafter enjoy, of cultivating your ac- 
quaintance and friendship, presents to my mind a pros- 
pect on which I reflect with no little pleasure. I must 
add that the idea of meeting you at the Lakes, of which 
from my early youth I have been a passionate lover, 
to use the common phrase, renders the picture still more 
gratifying to me. This, however, is a pleasure which I 
cannot very soon enjoy ; but a very dear and highly 
valued friend of mine is likely to visit the Lakes this 
very summer or perhaps autumn, and if you will allow 

VOL. II. 11 



122 

me to introduce him to you, you will oblige both myself 
and him. His name is Bowdler ; he had entered into 
the profession of the law, and though there perhaps 
scarcely ever was a man, the deUcacy of whose mind 
rendered the coarseness and roughness of the practice 
of the legal profession more uncongenial and less pala- 
table to him, he was advancing, on his very first en- 
trance into it, with a most unusual pace, when his 
declining health compelled him to quit England for a 
year or two. He is now so far recovered as to talk of 
returning to the exercise of his profession in the autumn. 
In the meantime he is to spend some months in the 
north ; and his head-quarters being in Yorkshire, he 
means to profit, from his vicinity to the Lakes, to visit 
that British paradise. 

lam aware that if you were to open your doors to all 
lakers, you would, during the summer, have little else 
to do, and therefore that it may be necessary for you to 
make rules on this head, and to rigidly adhere to them. 
But if you can, without impropriety, suffer my friend to 
spend a few hours in your society, I think you will not 
afterwards deem your time to have been thrown away. 
I ought, I think, to mention that he knows not of my 
asking for him the privilege of your acquaintance ; but, 
knowing well his attachment to the poetical works of 
Mr. Southey (and more especially that he has joined 
with me in tasting and praising the moral sublimity, of 
which we find so little in any other of our modern poets), 
I cannot doubt his gladly welcoming the opportunity of 
becoming acquainted with the man. 

I must break off, apologizing for this most hasty scrawl. 
You will, I trust, excuse all its defects, and allow me to 
subscribe myself, as I very truly can, with esteem and 
attachment. 

My dear sir, 

Very sincerely yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

p. S. After a hard struggle, of the particulars of 
which (as usual, so far as I am a party concerned) the 



123 

newspaper reporters give a very scanty and inaccurate 
account, we have thus far carried our proposition for 
enhglitening and christianizing India. I brought your 
kind contingent into the field in one of our party con- 
flicts. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD TEIGNMOUTIL 

Sandgate, Saturday evening, 
August 21, 1813. 

My dear Lord T. 

For some time before I left London it had been 
almost my daily intention to call in Portman Square, 
to receive a more particular account of your own state 
and that of your family. At last, however, I was 
obliged, unless I could be content to let my family go 
without me, to cut my cable and slip out to sea, leaving 
various matters unsettled. I brought down with me a 
number of unanswered letters, intending before I should 
set to any other work to clear away this epistolary 
arrear. But I have been wishing to execute another 
project, which, however, I have delayed so long as to 
have outstaid my market. Both Mr. Grant and I have 
been afraid lest the Anglo-Indians, who are among the 
most intelligent members of the higher circles, should 
be able to produce an impression, that we carried our 
point in the House of Commons by availing ourselves of 
a popular delusion, contrary to truth and reason. To 
provide against this, it is to be wished that the public 
mind could be in some degree instructed. I have had 
an idea, as one expedient for that purpose, to publish 
what I should call the substance of my two speeches in 
the House of Commons, chiefly as the pegs (to use an 
old saying concerning the text of the Pursuits of Litera- 
ture) on vvhich to hang up the various authorities and 
statements by which we establish our side of the ques- 
tion. But, as I have said, I shrink from the task, from 
a consciousness, besides all other objections, that I am 
too late. I believe I shall draw up a part, and see how 



124 

I like it, though the beginning I have already made 
convinces me that any speech, thus coldly dictated, from 
imperfect (very imperfect) recollection, must want any 
spirit or fire which it might have derived from figurative 
incidents and allusions. Buchanan, I hear, has pub- 
lished a new book, but I have not seen it; how much 
the mind in him predominates over the matter with 
which it is associated. 

I have been running over a very interesting little 
work, " Southey's Life of Lord Nelson." It has raised 
him greatly in my estimation, yet he affords examples of 
what is to be avoided, as well as of that w^hich is to be 
pursued. What a course was his ! and yet St. PauPs was 
really little if at all less laborious or dangerous; and in- 
stead of coronets and pensions he met only with reproach 
and poverty. I have often thought that nothing shows 
more strongly the perverseness of man, where religion is 
concerned, than the inadequate sense which is commonly 
•entertained of that apostle's heroic zeal and perseverance. 
But I am reminded that it is time to collect our family 
to evening prayers. I have been employing the interval 
between it and that of my return from an evening walk, 
in answering your friendly letter, and must now say good 
night. You sometimes take a stroll; 1 wish you would 
direct your steed this way. Even a few days' quiet in- 
tercourse at such a place as this, whether climbing the 
hills or strolUng along the beach, w^ould be worth as 
many years in London, for the friendly interchange of 
thoughts and feelings. In one particular, this place and 
neighbourhood have much improved since last year, — 
and that partly I hope from my expostulations, — in 
having schools set up in the two towns adjoining, and 
in Sandgate and its interior village itself What mercies 
do we enjoy in this land of peace and liberty ; like a 
little St. Helena, in the midst of a roaring ocean on all 
sides, we hear all around us the miseries of war, to 
which by the way we have become sadly too much habi- 
tuated, while we go in and out in security, and eat and 
drink under our own roofs, if not under our vines and 
fig-trees, without a fear for our wives and children. 



125 

Never surely was there so highly a favoured country as 
this — above all, our spiritual privileges. 

I have been running through Adam Clarke's Com- 
mentary on St. Matthew ; there is some very forcible 
practical matter, and some curious information, but 
surely a strange farrago of out of the way learning, 
which does not suit the feelings of any one who would 
read the Scripture devotionally. Have you received 
safely the manuscript on Providence,* which you were 
so kind as to lend me ? May such sentiments as it con- 
tains be ever my own. But my paper reminds me that 
I must say farewell — rather adieu; begging my own 
and Mrs. Wilberforce's best remembrances to Lady T. 
and Miss S., and assuring you that I am, 
My dear Lord T., 
Ever sincerely and affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD MUNCASTER. 

Sandgate, near Folkstone, September 2, 1813. 

My dear Muncaster, 

Surely since 1788, when no less than five-and- 
twenty years and a half ago you watched over me with 
the tenderness of a parent, and first gave me those 
proofs of friendly attention, which on all suitable occa- 
sions you have ever since displayed, there never was an 
interval wherein so little intercourse has taken place be- 
tween us as for the last six or seven months. I will not 
deny that this has given me real concern ; though, so far 
as our personal intercourse was in question, it was pre- 
vented by circumstances which I could not control ; and 
from the time of your leaving the great city till now, 
and indeed, at this very moment, I have been, and am 
so much occupied, partly, not to say principally, by my 
children, as to have been forced to beg a vote of credit 
from all my correspondents. You can scarcely conceive 

* Published in 1834. 
11* 



126 

how incessantly I was engaged on the subject of the re- 
newal of the East Indian Charter, especially in that re- 
solution and clause which respected the communication 
of Christian light and moral improvement to our East 
Indian fellow-subjects ; and I am persuaded that we 
have, by our success in that instance, laid the foundation 
stone of the grandest edifice that ever was raised in 
Asia. It too often happens, my dear Muncaster, in the ' 
case of our parliamentary concerns, that though we may 
do what we conceive to be for the best, the consequences 
of our measure may prove very different from those 
which we had anticipated from it ; and it often happens, 
too, — and we had an instance of it, I willingly acknow- 
ledge, in the last session, — that at the very time that 
we pursue the course which we believe to be right, we 
cannot feel quite comfortable in pursuing it, because we 
see so many whose judgment and principles we highly 
respect taking the directly opposite one ; but where our 
cause is such an one as that of the Abolition of the slave 
trade, or the introduction of Christian light and moral 
improvement into India, by such means as sober reason 
and experience sanction and approve, we may proceed 
with confidence. 

I suppose you are now in the old castle, with all 
well, I hope, around you. I am come to the same place 
in which I was last year : like all other human situations 
and things, it has its good and its bad properties : its 
best is, that it is a very quiet place, where we may live 
just as we please, and see a good deal of each other 
under the same roof, by seeing scarcely any one else ; 
and as I can associate so little w^ith my wife and 
children during the session, it is no more than fair that 
they should have the larger measure of my society after 
it is ended. What think you of the political prospects 
that are opening on us ? I own I dare not be sanguine, 
remembering how^ often we have been disappointed in 
the result of former coalitions. There are, however, 
several circumstances which distinguish the present 
times, and which tend to raise my hopes for our country. 
There is a marked improvement in the general character 



127 

of our clergy, and I cannot but say, that there is less 
open profligacy among our leading public men than 
there too often was formerly. The race of buck parsons 
is nearly extinct ; still, I cannot deny that there are other 
circumstances of not so pleasant a kind ; however, my 
dear Muncaster, neither your race nor mine can be much 
longer,* for I reckon myself much older in constitution 
than in years. May we both be prepared for the close 
of it — all else is comparatively insignificant ; though 
such is the practical folly of men, and too often of men 
very wise in the concerns of this life, that they go on 
neglecting those very interests which they themselves 
would acknowledge to be of supreme importance ; and 
more especially neglecting that very book which they 
profess to believe contains their sailing instructions, if I 
may so term them, through the stormy ocean of this 
life to the haven of security and rest, when, also, the 

alternative of that haven is But I must break off. 

Let me know, my dear Muncaster, how you and Lord 
and Lady Lindsay and their little one are ; and believe 
me, with every good wish for your temporal and eternal 
happiness, 

Yours, most sincerely, 

W. WlLBERFORCE* 

W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO SAMUEL ROBERTS, ESQ. 

London, December 31, 1813. 

My dear Sir, 

Did you but see the list of my unanswered corre- 
spondents, you would own that my sending back even 
three hasty lines in return for your kind letter was a 
friendly attention. I say friendly, not polite, because as 
the school boys phrase it, (a natural simile for a father 
in the Christmas holidays) we I trust have got out of the 
chapter of ciyility and have entered on that of friendship. 

jToiT wish me to take up the lottery ! ! ! Why^J[^Jj^ ,, 
been pleading that cause for *lhe last twenty years. I 
think I never saw Mr. Perceval so near out of ternpsj;, 

* TIiTs Tetter was written within a week of Lord Muncaster's death. 



128 

with me as when I pressed him on that subject. Mr. 
'Whitbread at the same time made (a somewhat strange 
tune f or such an instrument) even a pathetic speech 
against it; and observe that Mr. Perceval did introduce^ 
strengthened by Vansittart, some improvements which 
ijave very greatly lessened the evils. Still I quite agree 
with you — the tiling , is, j^rpng^W it is 

scarcely too strong, considering its formerly not rare 
effects (I allude to the suicides committed), to say in this 
case as inanotlier noted instance, ^' It is not lawful to put 
the money into the treasury because it is the price of 
blood." But I must break off— and say farewell — only 
remarking that I infer from your language that you did 
not receive from me a copy of the speech. Your name 
I was sure was in the list, and I find it is so on consulting 
it. The copy must have been detained somewhere. 
Farewell, and believe me, my dear Sir, 
Yours ever most truly, 

W. WiLBERrORCE. 

As for my not mentioning Dr. Buchanan, you don't 
take into account the really determining motive — that 
I considered the issue very doubtful, and that I was not 
at liberty, even out of friendship much less out of civility, 
to incur the risk of losing a single vote. If you knew 
the House of Commons and its prejudices as well as I 
do, 1 am persuaded you would think differently on that 
point. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. HANNAH MORE. 

London, April 9, 1814. 

My dear Friend, 

So the dynasty of Buonaparte has ceased to 
reign, as friend Talleyrand informs us. This hath 
God done. How can I but wish that my poor old 
friend Pitt were still alive to witness this catastrophe 
of the twenty-five years' drama (since 1789) ? But I 
recognize (what indeed I must say I have often stated 



129 

to be my expectation) the Scriptural principle^^^of^ 
Divine conduct, in selecting for the instruments oPits" 
favours not the most admired of human agents, but 
those 'I' 2foul^^not frmn whom (Perceval only ex- 
c6pTe3)"tM voice pC^^^^^^ has been most frequently 

poured forth for the success both of our counsels and 
arms—" Them that honour me," &c. The present; 
tninistry also has clearly been more favourable thaa., 
most others to true religion. Farewell. Kindest re- 
membrances. 

Ever yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



MR. JOSEPH LANCASTER TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Elliott's Row, near West Square, 
Lambeth Road, South wark, 

4th Month 15, 1814.* 

My kind Friend, 

I have known so much of thy kindness in times 
past, that I venture to address a few lines to thee on two 
subjects, the last of which is of pecuHar importance, and 
to it I shall beg thy especial attention. 

The first is, that by a series of oppressions I have 
been made a bankrupt, and involved in utter ruin. I 
have committed some errors and oversights by putting 
false confidence in great professions, and my remu- 
neration for large sums of my own disbursed for the 
pubKc good, has evaporated in a trifle of which more 
than one third is unpaid. 

For myself I could bear this, but I have had to sup- 
port my father, and my poor wife has been greatly 
depressed by events so utterly unexpected. For her 
sake it is, more than my own, that I take the liberty 
of making a private application for the small sum of 
five pounds. If we can succeed in raising about one 
hundred pounds among a few private friends, it will ren- 
der us much more happy than perhaps we should have 
been if we had never known the purifying hand of 



130 

affliction. I hope at least that the application I am 
making will not be taken amiss, and that thou wilt 
cheerfully render me such small assistance as may be 
most proper. 

The second point is the most important ; it is one I 
beg may be confidential. It fills me with awe and dread 
for the system I have matured — for the perpetuation of 
all the good I have done and for the great cause of edu- 
cation, the basis of which is ' and ought ever to be the 
instruction of youth in the sacred writings. 

The Westminster (Lancasterian) schools comntiittee 
have been convened without my responsibility. The 

present members met first at the house of , by his 

invitation some months ago. They consist of a few 
good men, chiefly dissenters, and of a number of leading 
members of the London corresponding societies, &c., 
and some of them seem to have sworn on the altar of 
Belial eternal enmity to the religion of Jesus. They 
have made an attempt already to extirpate the sacred 
volume out of all their proposed schools. They have 
been defeated, but the attempt has been shamefully 
screened and hushed up. I think it my duty as founder 
of the system to alarm the nation on the subject. It 
seems to me my Christian duty. The language has 
been fit for the attendants of the beast who bore the 
name of blasphemy. 

The party are, I believe, connected with Sir Francis 
Burdett's election plans. Now I am grieved to see the 

unwise and heady movements of , in letting the 

system get into the hands of such a party. Electioneer- 
ing purposes must be the unavoidable end. 

I cannot conceal from myself the most painful fact, 
that all the leading persons in the Borough Road Insti- 
tution, &c., are now intimately connected and associated 
with a set of infidels. They find them men of energy 
and reason, and business, and they think to make tools 
of these instruments. But so far from that, I can 
plainly see that the others are making dupes of them, 
instead of becoming their tools. These men, of weak 



131 

heads but good hearts, are misled to endanger the plan 
they profess to befriend. 

The outline I have given is but brief; the events and 
facts are to me clear as day. I am sometimes inclined 
to come out and be separate, for a believer hath no part 
with an infidel, and though we may in Christian ten- 
derness, bear these men in private society, yet no man 
who wishes to be an Israelite indeed, can possibly make 
friendship or join hands with a GoHah, while defying the 
armies of the living God. 

I beg these things may be received in confidence. 
My mind seems nearly made up, and my way clear ; yet 
I do well to take advice where so great an interest is at 
stake. The favour of thy early answer will much oblige 
thy respectful friend, 

Joseph Lancaster. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

London, April 1, 1814. 

My dear Friend, 

I have been very dilatory, but not without a 
tolerable excuse, if not a full justification. I received 
the lOZ. duly, but did not send it, because I knew from 
Scott himself, that, to the honour of the religious world, 
he had been so liberally supplied, chiefly without any 
solicitation, as to have no feelings in his mind but self- 
reproach for having ever distrusted the good providence 
of God; and, secondly, an emharras des richesses (not that 
these were his own words — no confidence in any one's 
veracity would entitle him to be believed, if he should 
report that old Scott had thus expressed himself, but 
such was the meaning of what he himself stated), toge- 
ther with a fear that he should grow too fond of money 
from, for the first time in his life, having more than he 
had occasion for. If 1 mistake not, 1300Z. or 1400Z. 
were raised, or are made up, by books sold, &c. Now, 
in times like these, when whatever is granted- to one is 
withheld from another, it really seemed wrong to execute 



132 

the commission without taking your judgment enlight- 
ened by these new facts. I shall, however, tell Scott 
of your intention when I next see him. I am half 
inclined to ask you to let me give half of your bounty 
to a very deserving woman, a widow (Scotch), with four 
or five children, whose husband was a sort of engineer, 
receiving 300Z. or 400/. per annum salary. One of her 
girls, about twelve, had got a place, as she herself (the 
mother I mean) told me, with a very pretty-looking 
young woman, who came to her house; but sir, she 
added and burst into tears, she is at home again. They 
spent all Sunday in playing at cards ; taught her bad 
words — I found this young lady was a player. The 
remaining 5/., or the whole, I will return, or apply as 
you shall direct it to be used. I must break off — fare- 
well. 

Ever your affectionate friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



JOHN BOWDLER, JUN. ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Hayes, May 17, 1814. 

My dear Sir, 

I am doubly in your debt, for, sad to say, I have 
never returned Mr. D. Stewart's . last letter which you 
were so kind as to send me. I wished to add a few lines, 
and what with the hurry and the pain of leaving a place 
where I had passed seven months, what with the fatigue 
of a little imprudent over-exertion, I did not find an 
opportunity of writing from Widley. I have since been 
in town for one night, but I was called up by business 
with Sir S. Lawrence, and did not intend to have seen 
any person, though I was unexpectedly enabled to spend 
half an hour in Palace Yard. I shall be truly happy 
when it is in my power to see you, more especially if it 
can be by spending a night or two at Kensington Gore; 
yet I do assure you your kindness in saying that you 
will not in any manner misconstrue my non-appearance, 
if it should so happen, is a relief to my mind ; for it 



133 

would give me great pain if I doubted for a moment of 
your unabated cordiality and affection. The truth is, I 
am not strong, and I am surrounded with distractions, 
all of so petty a nature, that they only harass without 
arousing the mind, like flies buzzing in all directions 
about one. Here for a moment I am in repose, and 
from this retreat look at the. world from which I have 
long been secluded, and on which I am about to enter 
again, not without trepidation. Alas, alas ! it is a rough 
and stormy ocean ; and in good truth my bark is but a 
slight one. The more I see and feel, the more I am 
astonished how men, who do not look to God for pro- 
tection and support, can bear up at all amidst the con- 
tending elements in this dark region. But we know 
that " all things shall work together for good to them 
that love God;" and the true wisdom, therefore, must be 
to labour to secure that which will bear with it, in some 
form or other, every necessary blessing. 

I am sincerely obliged to you for your kind invitation 
to Sandgate ; but I am bound this summer to redeem a 
pledge made long since of going to Studley, in order to 
cast an eye on the state of Miss Lawrence's affairs in 
those quarters. Being so far north, I shall probably go 
on a Httle further, and ramble a little about the lakes in 
Cumberland, and 

" Where Ettrick winds its way lo Tweed, 
Unlike the tide of human time," &c. 

— one of the most beautiful and most melancholy pas- 
sages in poetry. How glad should I be to have you to 
enjoy and help me to enjoy the delicious scenery of 
Cumberland ! 

I am not amiss in point of health, but my strength is 
not great, nor my spirits very buoyant. Pray make my 
kindest regards to Mrs, Wilberforce, accept my best 
thanks for the enclosed, and all your kindness respecting 
it, and believe me, 

Very gratefully and affectionately, yours, 

J. B., Jun. 

VOL. II. 12 



134 

W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO WILLIAM HEY, ESQ. 

Near London, May 13, 1814. 

My dear Friend, 

Value as you ought, and be thankful for your 
power of going on with little sleep, as well as your ex- 
cellent method of economizing in the expenditure of 
your time. I fear I must acknowledge as much inferi- 
ority in the latter instance, as from my bodily infirmities 
in the former. I am quite overloaded with business of 
various kinds, and perhaps I am doing wrong in now 
writing to you, to the neglect of a more pressing call, 
but I w^ll be short. 

Lord Sidmouth assured me he was considering what 
remedy to apply to the dreadful evils mentioned by Mr. 
Nixon. 

It is now several years since Mr. Todd Naylor wrote 
to me from Rio Janeiro ; and I spoke more than once 
to the successive secretaries of state (Mr. Canning, &c.) 
urging on them the importance, and even necessity of 
a chaplain, and of divine worship for Protestants, &c. at 
Rio. The whole difficulty then consisted in the payment 
of the expenses. At Lisbon the factory was- used to sup- 
port the ecclesiastical establishment ; and I was assured 
that the matter should be considered, and the merchants 
be consulted through our consul at Rio, and desired to 
settle some permanent dues, probably in the way of 
duties on exports or imports, which should be appro- 
priated to that use. I will name it at the Secretary of 
State's office, and also to the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
if I can, to-morrow, as I mean, D. V., to dine at Lam- 
beth ; but do you also name it to your friend, and urge 
on him the importance of promoting among the mer- 
chants, and other Enghsh at Rio, a disposition to sup- 
port the chaplaincy in whole or in part. The Roman 
Catholics cry shame on us ; our not having a clergy- 
man even to bury the dead, is thought shocking, and we 
are deemed almost a Pagan nation, altogether insensible 
to religion. 

I quite rejoiced at your Abolition clause in the ad- 



135 

dress ; such a clause was unanimously assented to in an 
address of a public meeting at Liverpool. I quite re- 
joice also in the idea of having your prayers. O, my 
dear sir, what an unspeakable blessing it is to know that 
we serve a master so ready to bear with our infimities, 
and forgive our sins, negligences, and ignorances. I 
little thought when I began of saying more than three 
words about the Rio chaplain, and adding that I am 
ever 

Your sincere friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

I sent your inclosure to Macaulay. I hear rather 
favourable accounts from Paris about the disposition of 
people in high stations towards the Abolition ; but the 
mercantile world are intent on gain, the profligacy of 
manners and morals great, and even the manners be- 
come rough, &c. 

I have ideas of endeavouring to get up benevolent 
institutions, and I hope Bible societies, in some of the 
great towns in France. 



PRINCE TALLEYRAND TO WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Juin 1, 1814. 

Monsieur, 

Je vous dois des remerciments pour I'obligeance 
extreme avec laquelle vous m'avez communique vos 
craintes sur le parti quet prendra la France relativement 
a la traite des negres. Vous m'avez tout-a-fait rendu 
justice en pensant que je lirais avec grand interet les 
vues d'un homme deja si justement celebre a tant de 
litres, et qui a rendu son nom a jamais illustre par sa 
perseverance a poursuivre Pabohtion d'un commerce aussi 
contraire aux regies d'une saine politique qu'aux lois 
de I'humanite. 

Je ne pouvais ignorer sans doute, Monsieur, Phistoire 
de cette grande question politique, agitee si longtemps et 
avec tant d'eclat dans le parlement d'Angleterre ; mais 



136 

votre lettre est venue y ajouter un nouvel interet par la 
justesse de vos observations, et par la chaleur meme que 
vous mettez a les faire prevaloir, et a les appliquer a la 
conjoncture actuelle. Cette, lettre, Monsieur, a ete pour 
moi I'occasion de renouveller toute mon admiration 
pour un pays dans lequel les plus grands homines d'etat 
non seulement concoivent les projets les plus utiles au 
monde, mais en poursuivent I'execution avec cette pru- 
dence, cette sagesse, et cette perseverance qui en as- 
surent le succes. Le courage qui donne la patience de 
murir un plan, et d'en attendre I'application, est souvent 
plus difficile que celui qui fait briser tout les obstacles. 
Combien est heureuse I'Angleterre de posseder des 
hommes qui s^vent mettre vingt ans a etablir une belle 
institution ! La methode des mesures violentes et pre- 
cipitees a failli perdre la France; elle pouvait perdre 
I'Europe. 

En voyant les folies que nous faisions de ce cote de la 
Manche, j'ai souvent tremble pour la civilisation Europe- 
enne. Je me rassurais en contemplant la sagesse, la 
raison, la prudence, et les lumieres de vos hommes 
d'etat. Ces reflexions me ramenent actuellement a la 
question qui vous interesse, et qui est veritablement la 
votre, puisque vous avez eu la gloire de la proposer le 
premier a la Grande Bretagne. 

Le traite de paix qui vient d'etre conclu vous - 
prouvera que les vues du Roi ne s'ecartent point des 
votres a cet egard. Ce Prince eelaire a le desir de voir 
abolir la traite des negres ; mais il a pense, comme le 
gouvernement Anglais, que cette mesure ne pouvait 
s'operer qu'avec precaution. La France n'etait point 
preparee sur ce sujet comme I'Angleterre. Cinq annees 
nous suffiront pour parvenir au but que vous desirez 
atteindre. 

J'aime a croire, et je suis heureux de penser, que 
d^sormais nos deux gouvernements s'entendront pour les 
grandes vues d'humanite ou d'utilite publique qui 
naitraient sur I'une ou I'autre rive de la Manche. Nous 
avons a present tant de raisons d'etre unis, que cette dis- 
position mutuelle ne pent que resserrer les liens des 



/ 137 

deux pays. Ce voeu si ardent que je formais depuis 
longtemps pour la prosperite de nos deux pays, vient 
de se realiser par le traite de paix que vient d'etre 
conclu. 

Agreez, je vous prie, I'assurance de ma consideration 
la plus distinguee, et des sentimens particuUers, avec 
lesquels j'ai I'honneur d'etre, 

Monsieur, 
Votre tres humble et tres 

Obeissant serviteur, 

Le Prince de Benevent. 



MONSIEUR LA FAYETTE TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Paris, Juin 3, 1814. 

Monsieur, 

Mon ami Alexandre de Humboldt, connaissant 
mes obligations envers vous, et mon vieux devouement 
a la cause dont vous avez ete I'heureux defenseur, a 
pense que j'avais quelques droits pour lui donner una 
lettre d'introduction dont il sent tout le prix. Je saisis 
moimeme avec I'empressement I'occasion de vous offrir 
le double hommage de reconnaissance que vous doit un 
ennemi de I'esclavage et un ancien prisonnier d'Olmutz. 
Le nom de M. de Humboldt est trop celebre pour y 
rien ajouter : je me permettrai pourtant de dire que le 
plus infatigable courage dans la recherche, et le genie 
le plus extraordinaire pour I'acquisition de tout ce qui 
est a la portee de I'esprit humain, sont en lui des 
qualites moins eminentes encore que celles de son coeur. 
Vous jugerez combien il a joui de vos succes philan- 
tropiques, et combien il souhaite les voir completes 
sans restriction ni retard. Agreez, Monsieur, tous mes 
voeux, ma haute consideration, et mon reconnaissant 
attachement. 

La Fayette, 

12* 



138 
HENRY BROUGHAM, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Temple, Tuesday. 

My dear Friend, 

You may easily believe I have thought of nothing 
but the treaty for two days past, and have each moment 
found out new cause of vexation and indignation. A 
fine return truly, and a pure sense of the benefits they 
have received, those base Bourbons are evincing ! 

As for Alexander and the other allies, they may 
cheaply enough be abolitionists, having not one negro, 
— as I doubt not the Bourbons are all for abolishing 
villenage. This liberality at other people's expense is, 
I believe, the whole amount of the magnanimity we 
hear so much of. However we must try even such 
means rather than despair; and we ought to think 
betimes how to set about it. A strong expression of 
the sense of parliament on this unexampled atrocity is 
the best means ; and while the allies are here — if possi- 
ble while they are present. Public meetings and ad- 
dresses are another. I have set the City men upon 
inserting a great deal to this effect in their address, and 
should hope it may go round. Lord Grenville should do 
so at Oxford ; the Duke of Gloucester at Cambridge, if 
they go there. 

But in truth one is disheartened and sick of men, and 
above all of rulers. Any thing so cold-blooded and base 
never could have been perpetrated but by French poli- 
ticians of the worst school. 

I inclose Dumont's letter, just received, arid am 

Yours most truly, . 

H. Brougham. 



MADAME DE STAEL TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Combien vous devez etre heureux de votre tri- 
omphe, vous Pemporterez et c'est vous et Lord Welling- 
ton qui aurez gagn^ cette grande bataille pour Phu- 
manit^. Soyez sure que votre nom et votre "perseve- 



139 

ranee ont tout fait. D'ordinaire les idees triomphent 
par elles memes et par le tems, mais cette fois c'est 
vous qui avez devanee les siecles. Vous avez inspire 
a votre Heros Wellington autant d'ardeur pour faire du 
bien qu'il en avoit eu pour remporter des victoires, et 
son credit vers la famille royale a servi a vous pauvres 
noirs. Vous avez ecrit une lettre a Sismondi qui est 
pour lui comme une couronne civique, ma petite fille 
tient de vous une plume d'or qui sera sa dot dans le ciel. 
Enfin vous avez donne du mouvement pour la vertu a 
une generation qui sembloit morte pour elle. Jouissez 
de votre ouvrage, car jamais gloire plus pure n'a ete 
donnee a un homme — 

Je me mets a vos pieds de tout mon coeur, 

A. DE Stael. 

Paris, ce 4 9bre, 1814. 



RT. HON. G. CANNING TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Gloucester Lodge, Octob&r 25, 1814. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have to thank you for both your letters — that 
to myself, (which I have show^n and talked over w^ith 
Liverpool, and should have been glad, had it so hap- 
pened, that we could have talked v^ith you together,) 
and the printed one to Talleyrand, w^hich I put by to 
read on my middle passage. I am working hard to get 
off* on Saturday, but the carrying a family beyond sea 
is no trifling undertaking. 

I ought not to omit to say, in reference to one part of 
your last letter, that I do not believe, nor does Liver- 
pool, that Lord Strangford is unfriendly to the cause of 
Abolition, but that he really and bond fide has done all 
that could be done in so very unfavourable a position. 

I need not assure you that I will not leave any thing 
unattempted, publicly or privately, to forward the great 
object ; and I know no object of which it would make 
me happier or prouder to be able to aid the accomplish- 

* To Lisbon. 



140 

ment But I think we shall find that we must be con- 
tented to go gradually to work; and I am satisfied that 
rough measures and a tone of dictation would tend 
rather to alienate our ally altogether than to bring him 
over to our views. Recollect, that if France be not 
sincere, here is a point of union between her and the 
Peninsular powers. 

I am to see Souza, and have a talk with him to- 
morrow ; but I fear he is not to be wrought upon to do 
much for us. I shall endeavour, at least, to get him to 
be quiet, and not counteract us. 

Could my secret have been kept I should have been 
very desirous, indeed, to have had two or three months 
of perfect privacy and tranquillity before the arrival of 
the Prince ; but it being once known what I was to he, 
there was no chance of peace for me in a private sta- 
tion ; and therefore it is determined that I go out as 
ambassador. 

Will you take the trouble to order a complete series 
of the Reports of the African Society to be sent to me ? 
I have had them from time to time, but in my packings 
I have not been able to find a regular set. If they 
could be here by Friday it would do ; or they can be 
sent after me. 

Ever, my dear Wilberforce, 
Sincerely and affectionately yours, 

G. Canning. 



HENRY THORNTON, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

London, October 28, 1814. 

My dear W., 

I have been almost ashamed of writing to you 
until I had read your book,* which I can assure you I 
much approve ; and I give you my warmest congratu- 
lations on your being so far honoured by Providence as 
to be the means of disseminating thus widely over the 

♦ Letter to Talleyrand on the Slave Trade. 



141 

globe principles of humanity, with some infusion of 
religion, and the spirit of true and practical freedom. 
I trust your work will soften down some of those feel- 
ings of national animosity of which I hear so much in 
many quarters. I doubt whether you are not a little 
too handsome (it being, indeed, politic to be handsome) 
towards the French people. But your translator, I con- 
ceive, has made you say more in French than you had 
said in Enghsh. 

What say you to these American affairs ? I grieve 
over the hard blows we are exchanging, and the perma- 
nent animosities which we are thus generating. It may 
be true that if we make war on a country whose 
government is so democratic, and whose territory is so 
extensive, it may be necessary to operate on the pubHc 
mind by spreading our blows in some such manner as 
that in which we are bestowing them ; but even then 
the destruction of all civil buildings seems questionable, 
and the policy of embarking any deeper in war at all 
when negotiators were assembling, and peace was the 
word through Europe, strikes me as too pugnacious, 
and as rather unchristian, not to mention the errors in 
particular expeditions. It seems as if in politics, as in 
private life, there must ever be some trouble. The next 
waves, I trust, will not be so high as the last ; but there 
will, I suppose, be much rough work, especially in 
parliament. 

Remember us kindly to Mrs. W. 

Yours, ever affectionately, 

H. Thornton. 



PRINCE TALLEYRAND TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Vieniie, Novenibre 6, 1814. 

J'ai regu. Monsieur, la lettre que vous m'avez 
fait I'honneur de m'ecrire le 19 du mois dernier. Vous 
savez quelle est mon opinion : il y a longtemps que je 
suis tout-a-fait convaincu, mais tout le monde ne I'est 
point ; et vous trouverez en France beaucoup d'adver- 



142 

saires, c'est-a-dire beaucoup de prejuges, a vaincre. 
Vous connaissez la nature des prejuges : ce n'est poiat 
en les heurtant qu'on peut en triompher. II faut des 
menagements. II faut surtout de la patience et du 
temps. La publication de vos ecrits en France ne peut 
produire que de tres-bons efFets. Pour moi, je n'y vois 
aucune difficulte, et je ne pense pas qu'elle puisse en 
eprouver. On ne peut pas douter que la verite, dont 
vous etes le zele defenseur, ne soit un jour generalement 
reconnue. Je lirai avec plaisir tout ce que vous ecrirez 
sur cet objet, et je fais des voeux bien sinceres poui' le 
succes de vos soins. 

Je vous prie d'agreer, Monsieur, I'assurance de la 
haute consideration avec laquelle j'ai I'honneur d'etre, 
Votre tres-humble et tres-obeissant Serviteur, 

Le Prince de Talleyrand. 



MRS. MARTHA MORE TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, Novomber 22, 1814. 

My dear Sir, 

With anxious impatience have I been watching 
for the moment, when by any accident I could discover 
from yourself that our last conversation, at Barley Wood, 
had not escaped your memory. Your kind little note has 
raised my spirits, by convincing me it is still in your 
thoughts, and the moment seems arrived when I may 
fully open my mind to you without intrusion ; and in the 
fullest trust and confidence I begin my little tale. 

It is almost forty years ago (for I was very young) 
that I began, by myself, to keep all her* letters to us of 
the literary anecdotes of the day. I have of course 
amassed a great deal. I have a very sensible confiden- 
tial female friend, who writes very well. With my school 
and family cares, I wanted aid. I enhsted this lady, who 
is truth and secrecy itself Soon after you left us ; shut 
up in my little chamber we began our labours. I must 

* Mrs. Hannah More. 



143 

now sketch to you what we did in about two months. A 
regular narrative of my sister's life, not forgetting the 
petty things of her childhood, including all the necessary 
circumstances of her life, to the day when she was first 
introduced to Mr. Garrick. We then make extracts 
from her own letters, which chiefly carry on her history 
for the next twelve or thirteen years ; here you have the 
whole state of the Blue Stocking day. I have made a 
point to give accurately her play-going day : thank God, 
it was short. When she begins to shorten her London visits 
— then the whole of the schools, clubs, &c. is brought 
forward, aided by a private journal of my own. We then 
take up the milkwoman, arrange all that pretty affair : I 
then plunge into the Rev. Mr. Bere's business, have 
gone through the whole of it, and brought the memoir 
down to the " Hints to a Princess." All her writings 
as they came out are regularly introduced in their 
places, with what was said of them at the time. The 
above is done in clean, plain, simple writing, with every 
date in its proper place — it fills many quires of paper. 
It is ready for whoever you may hereafter wish to be 
the editor. Much is yet to be done : on the last ten 
years of her life I have not yet touched. This includes 
" Coelebs," " Practical Morals," " St. Paul."- And now, 
my dear Sir, I have anxiously watched for the chance 
of your coming westward, but all in vain ; and when I 
heard your family were in Kent, I gave up all hopes of 
seeing you this year, but your little note revived my hopes 
again. To read it to you a couple of hours at a time, 
would now be the greatest pleasure I could know in this 
world ; for the heroine of our history, I think, will not 
be very long with us — not if I judge by her mind, for 
that certainly brightens. 

I know I have taken up too much of such time as 
yours ; but I know also your kindness to me the last 
twenty-five years ; and that you have been so good, as 
indeed Bishop Porteus had done, as to touch upon this 
subject. I hear occasionally many are making memo- 
randums, and getting ready her history the moment she 
departs. What impertinence ! When you have read 



144 

this, you will of course burn it ; my sister does not know 
I am writing, but she knows of your note, and says my 
head will be turned at having a secret with you. Of 
course I have told her the outline, and she laughs at my 
folly, but she shall not read my book. 

Of course you will not take the trouble to answer 
this : I should be grieved if you supposed I could think 
of troubling you. 

I remain, dear Sir, with every grateful feeling, 
Your truly obliged, 

Martha More. 

I will scribble a line about my sister on a separate 
bit of paper. 



SIR SIDNEY SMITH TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Vienna, December 5, 1814. 

My dear Sir, 

I duly received your letters, and the packet of 
the printed ones for Prince Talleyrand, and have made 
good use of them. I cut the pamphlet open before 
giving it to him, to insure the better chance of his read- 
ing it, or, at least, his dipping oftener into it. He 
assured me, the next time we met, he had read it all, 
and that the arguments were so convincing to his mind 
that he would cause it to be reprinted and circulated in 
France, with a view to forming public opinion there on 
the same ground. He said it was eloquently drawn up ; 
that if France had had the same experience, or if she 
had not had the disadvantage of a want of intercourse 
with England (in a literary point of view) for twenty 
years, no doubt her feelings and opinions would be the 
same. At present, the feeling was that colonies were 
necessary to her, and an importation of slaves necessary 
to restore their cultivation ; and that she could not be 
persuaded on a sudden, and would not be compelled, to 
forego that source of wealth and prosperity as a resource 
to restore herself to her position in Europe. 



145 

In answer to my reasoning, he said in admission 
thereof, " La chose m''est demontre (d, moi) ; il s'agit de la 
demontrer d, la Fr'ance ;^' so much for the power of a 
wrong pubUc opinion — would that a right one were 
formed, and were as powerful. On the subject of the 
white slave trade on the north coast of Africa, and the 
recent kidnapping of some poor cultivators from the 
coast between Nice and the Var, officially announced 
here, P. Talleyrand and others immediately revert to 
the old idea of driving the " Barbary powers back by 
European force, and colonizing that coast." My idea is 
to bring the oppressed native African princes forward to 
drive the Turkish banditti home, requiring the Porte to 
recall them, or at any rate to deny their recruiting in 
Turkey, and disavow their piracy and political existence 
as independent states. I am at work towards this end, 
and thus ultimately to abolish the slave trade in Africa, 
but 1 am aground for want of money, and I have not 
any more inheritances to expend in the service of my 
country and mankind. Could you not get a couple of 
hundred pounds lodged at Coutts's in my name by the 
African Institution or Association (both are equally in- 
terested) for this purpose ? 

I would give a regular, and I am confident a good 
account of the expenditure, and the result. My corre- 
spondence extends from Lebanon to Atlas. Triffing 
presents thus multipHed cost money, and I have no 
more to spare with justice to my family. 

Yours, very truly, 

W. S. Smith. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO GENERAL MACAULAY. 

Barham Court, near Maidstone, 
Saturday night, January 7, 1815. 

My dear General, 

Before I proceed to the subject on which I have 
been for some time intending to trouble you, let me, 
while I recollect it, mention that which is brought to 

VOL. II. 13 



146 

my mind by the copy of the Duke of Wellington's letter 
to you, for which I return you many thanks. I have 
long intended to take the first opportunity of inform- 
ing you, that having occasion to write to the Duke of 
Wellington, and growing more and more uneasy con- 
cerning the publication* in the Bristol paper, I named 
to the Duke the whole affair exactly as it had taken 
place, before I received your letter. Finding your 
opinion the other way, and presuming it might in part 
be grounded on your knowledge of the man, I was sorry 
I had so done. However, no harm appears to have 
ensued, and the Duke, like a man of large mind, forgets 
his own personal share in the business, as you must 
have remarked, and only seems alive to the possible 
effects on the cause. The circumstance, in that point 
of view, has given me real pleasure, as an indirect, and 
thereby the most powerful indication of the interest 
which the Duke of WeUington really takes in the success 
of his negotiation for Abolition. I do not, however, for- 
get that it has been owing most likely to your kind and 
promised warning, and to the measures I immediately 
took in consequence of it, that the Bristol paragraph 
was not copied into the London newspapers, where it 
would have attracted much more notice. 

But I have detained you much longer than I meant or 
expected on this topic ; and having had very little time 
w^hen I began at my own command, still less of course is 
left for mentioning to you the case of the family of one 
of the best of men, the late General Burn of ihe Marines, 
who died lately, leaving a widow and nine or ten children. 
The General was a Christian of many years standing, 
and they who saw him the most intimately, thought 
of him the most favourably. I am not, I ought to tell 
you, merely a volunteer in this good cause ; the General 
left behind him a letter, in which he recommended his 
surviving family to my good offices ....... 1 have 

had so many proofs of your generosity, and of your 

* A paragraph, which it was feared might prejudice the negotiation at 
this time proceeding in France, on the subject of the Slave Trade. 



147 

Christian consideration, that I shall be persuaded you 
had good reasons, which did not impeach either of them, 
if you should contribute nothing; and I should be a 
slow scholar indeed, if I had not learned your friendly 
regard for myself too well to impute your noncom- 
pliance to any failure in that quarter. But where are 
you gone all this time ? I wish you would give a look 
in upon us during our stay here, where, D.V., we shall 
continue, except for an occasional visit for a day or two 
at a time to see Mr. Henry Thornton, till the meeting of 
Parliament. Here is a good house, and a pretty good 
library, with large fires within doors, and a sweet place 
without, which, even at this season, retains the traces, 
most unambiguous traces, of rural beauty. It really 
would give me pleasure to see you, only favour me with 
a line, that my only other proposed visit to town, if I pay 
one at all, may not happen at the time of your coming. 
I must not trust myself with another sheet, and so I will 
on this crowd in my best wishes for you in time and 
through eternity. Ever your sincere friend, 

My dear General, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

P. S. I ought, however, before I lay down my pen, to 
inform you that I have this day heard from a friend 
that the French government have abandoned the designs 
on St. Domingo, and are about to offer treaties both to 
Christophe and Petion, stipulating against slavery : this 
looks well. I have received to-day, also, a packet from 
Henry I. of Hayti, or rather from his secretary of state. 
You shall see it. 



JOHN BOWDLER, ESQ. JUN. TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed by Mr. W. " Dear Bowdler, day after dear Henry Thornton's 
death — delightful picture of the man — just before his own seizure.") 

Lincoln's Inn, January 17, 1815. 

. My dear Friend, 

I think I am indulging my own feelings rather 



148 

than attempting to soothe yours in writing these few 
lines ; but I have felt so much for what I too well know 
you must feel at hearing the heavy tidings of yesterday, 
that I cannot remain silent. Oh ! it has been a heavy 
blow to dear Mrs. H. T., to you, to me, to all ! I am 
glad to think you were in some degree prepared for it, 
and it is quite a consolation to me to know that you saw 
him, and that the interview was so full of satisfaction, 
though not unmingled with sadness. To the latest 
moment of my life I shall thank God for his exceeding 
mercy in having prolonged his life three days after my 
return from Staffordshire. Had he died on Friday 
morning (as might well have been), it would have been 
a cloud and grief for all succeeding years. Thank 
God I saw him on Friday, and was able to answer two 
questions respecting his worldly affairs, which gave him 
some anxiety. I saw him also again on Sunday evening, 
and the memory of that interview will long, very long, 
be dear to me. His deep humility under the sense of 
sin, and perfect trust in his Redeemer ; his feeble voice, 
yet clear, unclouded intelligence ; his depression under 
the weight of disease and suffering, yet meek collected- 
ness and unaffected resignation, were a sight for angels 
to behold. 1 doubt not they did behold — and bless 
that Almighty Lord who had subdued even sin and 
death. 

You will be glad to hear, if this should reach you 
before you receive intelligence from others, that Mrs. 
H. T. has been most wonderfully supported. She was 
perfectly calm, and not materially ill, at a late hour last 
night. The account this morning, for I did not see 
her before I came away, was that she had some sleep, 
and no terror or agitations during the night. Mrs. 
Grant was with her, who was surely made to comfort 
the distressed — so soft, so gentle, so unwearied. I trust 
in God that dear Mrs. H. T. will be sustained and com- 
forted under this tremendous blow by his grace and 
power, who has peculiarly claimed for himself that 
blessed privilege. Poor M. was greatly afflicted ; but 



149 

she has an extraordinary degree of self-command, and 
though she will suffer much, youth is buoyant. 

While at Kensington Gore I had no time to think of 
any sorrow but those around me ; but since I left them 
I have begun to feel for myself and for others out of his 
immediate family. Alas! alas! indeed God has not 
forgotten to be gracious, all is ordered in love and pity ; 
but the loss is irreparable. Even this day, the first that 
has dawned on his lifeless body — even this day I have 
wanted his counsel. And how many, many, are there 
to whom his example gave confidence and guidance in 
their humble exertions, who leant on him, and looked to 
him in every season of doubt or temptation. But I 
have grown querulous, and it is time to have done. I 
am not ill, but a Httle overcome. Surely those who 
survive should consider his memory as a bond of the 
closest aflfection : and while they humbly endeavour to 
supply to the world by their increased exertions the sad 
vacancy which his death has occasioned, endeavour also 
to supply to each other, by the warmest friendship, that 
chilling void which is now filled only by his memory. 
And, oh! may that blessed day come quickly "when, 
cleansed by the blood of our common Saviour, we may 
all sit down together in a kingdom where death shall no 
more have dominion over us. I meant to have written 
to you before this sad event drew towards itself all my 
thoughts and feelings. I meant to have said how deeply 

both and I felt your great kindness, and how much 

we delight to think of your aflfection for us. Indeed, it 
is among the blessings which we most highly value and 
cherish. God, I humbly hope, will be gracious unto us, 
and bless us, and teach us to serve him in lowHness and 
faithfulness all our days. Our present affliction, I trust, 
will teach us, by His grace, to recollect that this is but 
our pilgrimage, and that true union must be in a world 
where we need not fear a separation. May God bless 
you, my dear friend, and give to you and yours all that 
is good in this world and lor ever. 

Yours, very affectionately, . 

J. BOWDLER. 

13* 



150 



I saw dear C. just before dinner ; though cast down 
himself, he came to comfort me, and he did comfort me. 
His first inquiry was if you were informed of it. In- 
deed, indeed, we both feel much for you. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
Chelsea, Tuesday afternoon, half-past Three. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I am just returned from the sad scene at Clapham 
Church Yard, and have not time to answer your letter 
as fully as I could wish. 

The last tribute of respect to the mortal part of our 
friend has been properly paid. There were a very great 
number of respectable persons, and few dry eyes. The 
chief mourners were Mr. Thornton, Mr. John T. and 
the two elder bovs. Lord Teignmouth, Mr. Grant, Mr. 
C. Grant, Mr. G. Thomson, Mr. W. Smith, and I, with 
a friend from Hull whose name I forget: we, with Mr. 
Melville- (and nobody else that I remember) accompanied 
the hearse in mourning coaches from Kensington Gore, 
with our carriages following, and were met in the 
church, where a great number of other friends were 
waiting, by the clergyman, &c., and the usual part of 
the funeral service was then performed, after which the 
rest of the solemnity took, at least, an hour, — I think 
an hour and a half, — from the long train of carriages 
which had to take up and set down at the churchyard. 
I had little curiosity to see who were there, but saw 
Lord Calthorpe, Macaulay, Brougham, R. Grant, &c. 
of our acquaintance, and among them poor old Mr. 
Wolff. The coffin was placed on the top of his mother's: 
we saw that of his father, too, and several others of the 
family, in the vault. 

But how trivial these things ! I mention them only 
because you desire me to give you any particulars that 
may be interesting. The most interesting part of the 
transactions, the deep and respectful grief of the attend- 
ing friends, you can easily conceive. 



151 

I must hasten to conclude, or lose the post. My 
dear Mrs. S. desires me to say that if you are not soon 
better, she wishes to go to see you. I hope to-morrow's 
post will relieve us from all anxiety on that score. It 
is, perhaps, providential that you could not come. The 
long stand in the churchyard was very trying; I could 
hardly bear it. 

I was afraid for Mr. G. and Lord T., and should have 
been much more so for you. 

God bless you, my dear W. Pray take care of your- 
self. We could not bear, — I am sure I could not, — to 
Jose you also. May I never see that day ! 

Love to Mrs. W. and the children. 

Yours ever, very affectionately, 

J. S. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

Barham Court, January 26, 1815. 

My dear friend, 

I must acknowledge the receipt of your beneficent 
inclosure with many thanks. 

A complaint which still confines me to my sofa, (though 
much abated, D.G.) rendering the act of writing irksome 
to me, I must check the disposition I should otherw^ise 
feel to pour forth some of the effusions of my heart. 
Our loss is very great, yet the common old consolation 
is not, and never can be, worn out, that our loss is to 
our friend unspeakable gain; and assuredly when we 
reflect on the exchange of a body of sickness and pain 
for the happiness of paradise, and a clearer prospect of 
the opening glories of the heavenly world, we must be 
conscious that it would be gross selfishness to wish to 
recall him. Yet poor Mrs. H. T. may indeed sorrow, 
though not as those who are without hope ; and she is 
wonderfully supported. 

Your letter quite comforts me under the disappoint- 
ment of having been absent from the funeral. From 
what I since hear, it was indeed providential that I 



152 

yielded to my good wife's tender importunities, and re- 
mained on my sofa. Farewell. May God be with you, 
both in your person and your publication. When are 
we to see it ? 

With kindest remembrances, I am ever, 

Your affectionate friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



LORD CALTHORPE TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

February 1, 1815. 

My dear W., 

You may probably have heard before this reaches 
you, that our dear friend* has been taken from us 
sooner than any of us had anticipated — he died soon 
after twelve o'clock to-day, rich in faith, and in the 
promise of eternal blessedness. I shall feel real comfort 
in seeing you. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

Calthorpe. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO REV. DR. COULTHURST. 

London, February 11, 1815. 

My dear Doctor, 

When I tell you that scarcely a week had passed 
after the death of our excellent friend Mr. H. Thornton, 
before another friend was called away, no less valuable, 
and only less dear to me because of more recent acqui- 
sition, and when you hear that yesterday morning 
brought me tidings also of the sudden departure of Dr. 
Buchanan, and when I tell you that all these trying 
events find me labouring under an unusual turmoil of 
worldly business and engagements of time and thought,' 
some of them of a very distressing and trying kind, you 
will not expect a long letter from me, but allow me to 

* John Bowdler, Esq. Jun. 



- 153 

offer (as when we meet a friend with whom we have not 
time to converse) a friendly assurance of the continuance 
of attachment and regard, as standing in the place of a 
more continued expression of my thoughts and feelings. 
One sentiment however I will express, because, blessed 
be God, it has been impressed on me by all the various 
scenes of grief and sympathy with which I have been 
lately conversant: — How great, how glorious, are the 
supports and consolations of true Christianity ! Its very 
sorrows and humiUations bear about them a character 
of purity and dignity more than human. Its very griefs 
are more really joyful and hopeful, and hence more 
soothing and cordially cheering to the mind, than the 
greatest of merely earthly pleasures, or the most abun- 
dant measure of sublunary prosperity. I beg my kind 
remembrances to Mrs. C. and my friendly regards to all 
our com-mon friends. Farewell. 

Ever yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE TO WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, February 13, 1815. 

My dear Friend, 

Thornton, Bowdler, Buchanan : the blows com^e 
thick upon each other. How wounding to the heart! 
how awakening to the soul ! I dare not expatiate. I 
should not write to day, being so very unwell, but to 
acknowledge the receipt of the half bill. How rejoiced 
should I be, after what you said of the insolvency of 
your tenants, to have returned it, but I am in some little 
danger of bankruptcy myself. I thank God my personal 
resources are increased, but my foreign ones are almost 
entirely cut off. I will explain myself when I am better 
able to write, and you (if that time should ever arrive) 
at more leisure to read. In the mean time I ought, for 
the sake of your feelings, to say that I shall be able to 
get on this year, and I may not live to another. The 
bounties of Providence have been too constantly abun- 



154 

dant to me ever to admit of distrust. I will never have 
more of you. 

What a mercy, and I bless God for it, that you did 
not go to the funeral I am told it probably cost Dr. 
Buchanan his life. His removal too ! O what room 
for meditation ! God seems to take away these human 
props, to bring us to bear more entirely on himself. 
Take care of your health. You do not say you are 
better. I hope you don't go to the House. As Knox 
once said to me, "Let the dead bury their dead." God 
bless you ! 

Pray sometimes for 

Your affectionate, 

H. More. 



DR. MIDDLETON, BISHOP OF CALCUTTA, TO W. WILBER- 

FORCE, ESQ. 

Calcutta, February 18, 1815. 

My de^r Sir, 

The intercourse with which you honoured me 
before I left England, and the memorials of your vigor- 
ous mind and immortal labours, which I see before me 
on the shelves of my library, induce me to hope that 
you will not consider a letter from me as an unwelcome 
intrusion. I landed at this place on the 28th November, 
after a voyage of five months and a half, not accompa- 
nied with any circumstances of danger, yet not leaving 
behind it any pleasing recollections. My reception here, 
was such as I had reason to expect from the well known 
fears which prevail at home with regard to Hindoo pre- 
judices, and the reserve which it is thought necessary to 
maintain upon all subjects connected with our religion. 
These fears, I can already take upon me to affirm, are 
wholly groundless; and I suspect that the unblushing 
manner in which we betray them, has not raised us in 
the estimation of the natives : they cannot understand 
why we should be ashamed of our rehgion any more 
than they are of theirs ; and the common remark was, 



155 

whea they heard that a Bishop was to be sent to India, 
" We wonder that you did not send one long since : you 
have a head of your army and of your law, and of every 
thing but your religion." In truth, they are the most 
tolerant people in the world : they would not suffer us to 
violate their temples, but they reverence all persons in- 
vested with a religious character, and that too in pro- 
portion to the consideration shown them by persons of 
the same faith. 

The withholding, however, of those marks of honour,* 
which are usually granted to persons in public stations 
on their arrival in this country, was a less serious evil 
than the want of a house. When I reached the mouth 
of the Ganges, I learnt from some visiters, who came 
on board our ship, that I had long been expected, but 
that nobody knew whither I was to go when I reached 
Calcutta ; and true it was, that no residence had been 
provided for me : however, I received a very friendly 
invitation from Mr. Seton of the Supreme Council, for 
myself and my party ; and I was obliged to trespass on 
his hospitality, which indeed I shall ever remember with 
gratitude, for full two months, from my inability to meet 
with a suitable house. This circumstance, together with 
the inadequacy of my salary, has attracted considerable 
attention ; 5000/. per annum, though in England it may 
seem to be a large sum, is not here an income which 
carries with it any impressions of respect ; nor is it on 
a level with the salaries paid to those who are less Hable 
than the Bishop to the demands of charity, and to calls 
of a public nature. The judges are paid at a better rate 
of exchange than that which has been adopted for the 
Bishop, who thus receives upwards of 4000/. per annum 
less than the chief justice of Bengal, and about 2000/. 
less than the puisne judges. The archdeaconries at 
2000/. per annum are probably in proportion to the 
bishopric. The Bishop is in future to collate to these 
preferments from among the Company's chaplains ; but 
the senior chaplains, who are probably in general the 

* Vide Le Bas's Life of Middleton^ vol. i. p. 75. 



156 

fittest to be archdeacons, could not in any of the presi- 
dencies, without great sacrifice of emolument, accept 
the appointment. But though enough has not been done 
to give weight and efficiency to the new estabhshment, 
I have no reason to infer that it will have to encounter 
any prejudice: the general feeling seems to be in its 
favour. From the members of the government 1 have 
received every individual attention, and they are evi- 
dently disposed to do every thing in their power to aid 
me in my undertaking ; and I have noticed among the 
inhabitants of the settlements some sacrifices to pro- 
priety, which they had never before been called upon to 
make, but which have yet been made very cheerfully : 
a masquerade had been announced for the day after 
Ash Wednesday ; but so soon as it was understood that 
Lent would be observed, and that there w^ould be pray- 
ers every Wednesday and Friday, the masquerade was 
abandoned in a manner which caused me to rejoice that 
it had been contemplated — it was by a public advertise- 
ment, specifically assigning the reason. At the theatre, 
also, where the performance used to be on Fridays, the 
day is changed during Lent. I hail these as very happy 
omens. 

I have here a very beautiful church, and I find it in 
admirable order. I preached in it for the first time on 
Christmas Day, and it was probably the most memora- 
ble day of my life. The congregation was numbered, 
as is the practice here, and amounted to 1300 persons: 
they heard me with attention for nearly an hour, after 
which w^e collected for the poor about 700/., and 160 
persons stayed to receive the sacrament. It was alto- 
gether as impressive a spectacle as ever I beheld. 

Since my arrival my time has been too much occu- 
pied with receiving and paying visits, in looking out for 
a house, and in getting settled, to allow me to pay much 
attention to a variety of topics, on which I am anxious 
to be well informed. On my voyage, however, I read 
your " Speeches upon the Moral Improvement, &c. of 
the Natives of India;" and I am fully convinced, from 
all which I have heard on the spot, that your views of 



157 

Hindoo morality are much more just than many per- 
sons will allow them to be in England. An expression 
which fell from Sir James Mackintosh in a charge given 
at Bombay, was treated as a sohtary testimony to the 
falsehood and prevarication of witnesses in courts of 
justice: but in conversations which I have had with 
judges and barristers of the supreme court, with the 
judges of the Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, and with the 
magistrates of provincial courts, I find that their expe- 
rience has led to the same conclusion, that the Hindoos 
have no feeUng of any religious or moral obligation to 
truth ; and the concurring depositions of three or four 
witnesses are not received as satisfactory evidence, 
unless when they are corroborated by circumstances, 
which are beyond the reach of fraud and imposture. 

All this is quite familiar to the minds of people here ; 
and I have heard much wonder expressed that the fact 
should be disputed in Europe. I do not, however, alto- 
gether despair of the Hindoos. I have had visits from 
several of the most opulent who reside at this presidency, 
and I find them extremely ready to converse both upon 
morals and religion. On the latter subject they are 
quite afloat : they seem not to know precisely what they 
should believe, though they freely admit that the pre- 
vailing usages of Brahminism are destitute of all autho- 
rity ; they appear for the most part to be Deists. One 
of them told me that men of sense in all countries had 
the same religion, and that in reality his Shaster and 
mine were the same. The best symptom w^hich I have 
remarked is, that an idea is gaining ground among them 
that they should derive advantage from being instructed 
in our arts and Hterature ; and they are beginning to 
talk of schools. I am expecting from Benares a Hindoo 
project upon that subject. If they once become gene- 
rally instructed in the elements of our knowledge, and 
the Brahmins could be provided for, Christianity, I doubt 
not, would follow. But considering what sacrifices we 
demand, and how few we have made, I really think 
that the propagation of Christianity in India is as exten- 
sive as we could possibly expect. If, however, I have 

VOL. II. 14 



158 

leisure, of which I have no right to expect a large share, 
I propose to throw together some remarks upon this 
subject, and I shall take the liberty of troubling you with 
the result. 

An occurrence has just taken place here, of which I 
fear that no very good use will be made in England. 
You remember, no doubt, the pathetic story in Dr. 
Buchanan's book of Sabat. He has been long em- 
ployed by Mr. Thomason in translating the New Tes- 
tament into Arabic : he accompanied Mr. T., who is 
up the country with Lord Moira ; but about two months 
since he made some excuse for coming to Calcutta. 
About a fortnight ago he published an Arabic volume 
(which turns out to have been his object in coming 
hither,) in which he renounces and reviles Christianity 
in the grossest terms, works up all the objections to it 
which he could collect, and establishes the truth of the 
Koran. As to Christianity, he declares that he never 
believed it, but that he wished to become acquainted 
with its weakness, and that he was well paid as a trans- 
lator. Of this work he has published six hundred 
copies, which he has distributed gratuitously : two of 
them were sent to gentlemen who were just embarking 
for England, and one is sent off to the Archbishop of 
Canterbury. He is returned to Arabia, probably ex- 
pecting that his zeal for Mohammedanism will recom- 
mend him among his countrymen as effectually as his 
profession of Christianity served his purpose in India. 

I find myself engaged in a multitude of very interest- 
ing objects, and I see before me an ample field for exer- 
tion. In a situation so new it is impossible but that I 
should have to encounter various difficulties ; but I 
trust, that with the blessing of God and continued health, 
I shall be able to accomplish somewhat towards the 
improvement of the state of religion and morals in this 
country ; and if I should be made the instrument of per- 
ceptible good, I shall not regret the sacrifices which I 
made in leaving England. Lord Moira has appointed 
the 14th of April for a general thanksgiving on account 
of the peace in Europe, official tidings of which reached 



159 

us but six weeks since. Afterwards I purpose to have 
a confirmation ; and towards the approach of the cool 
season in November, I hope I shall be preparing for my 
visitation to Madras and Bombay, a voyage of about 
the same distance as that from England to New York ; 
but after sailing 15,500 miles, it appears to be trifling. 

I observe with great pleasure the endeavours which 
you have used to put an end to the skve trade among 
other nations : I hope that the general congress will not 
think the subject undeserving of their deliberation. 

I shall be greatly obliged if you will do me the favour 
to present my compliments to Mrs. Wilberforce, and 
also to Lord Teignmouth. To Mr. Grant I shall write 
by this conveyance. 

I am, my dear Sir, 

With sentiments of the highest respect. 

Your much obliged and very faithful servant, 

T. F. Calcutta. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

Near London, July 19, 1815. 

My dear Friend, 

I cannot tell how it has hurt me to hear that you 
had been throwing out a plaint of never hearing from 
me, in such a way as to indicate the wounding of the 
friendly heart from which it came. If I had written to 
you as often as I have thought of you, I can truly say 
you would have had no more frequent correspondent. 
But alas, my friend, think of my situation. Truly I 
may say with FalstafF, though I trust with some difl^e- 
rence, (I feel however as if I were guilty of FalstafF's 
selfishness in making the remark,) Men of all sorts take 
a pride to gird at me. Men! ay, and women too. For 
it is not twenty- four hours since a young female of 
twenty came into my library, whose first words when 
we were alone were, " I have run away, Mr. Wilber- 
force." And a long piece of business have I had with 
this young fugitive whose companion, however, I am 
assured is of her own sex — her maid-servant. But the 



160 

truth is, I have been and still am in a continual state of 
struggling to prevent my sinking into an abyss of unan- 
swered letters, unread papers, unfinished business. I am 
like a man hunted on all sides by his creditors, and striving 
in vain to stop the growing accumulation, if not to pay 
off the old arrears. Pity me therefore, my good friend, 
instead of blaming me — take my part rather — defend 
me against myself — put me again into good humour 
with myself. 

I have been for some time about to state to you that 
I was coming with W. and a young friend of his into 
your neighbourhood for a tour, and that I certainly 
could not resist the attraction of Barley Wood. I am 
just now trying to wind up matters, in order to enable 
me to quit this place ; but new claims are continually 
recurring. Let me not however run off again into the 
same lamentation. What events have we witnessed 
both in public and private life ! Poor Whitbread, what 
a close, alas! He was certainly however deranged. 
But oh, how does all enforce on us the important truth 
that we must acquaint ourselves with God to be at peace! 
Hoping ere long to see you, I will not now enlarge. 
Farewell, my dear friend, believe me. 

Ever yours sincerely and affectionately, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MISS THORNTON. 

Kensington Gore, Friday, October 20, 1815. 

My dear M., 

I cannot tell you how much I value your most 
kind present :* it shall be preserved amongst my choicest 
treasures. The very author is my prime favourite ; but 
one of the very best of his w^orks, which had so long 
been the closet companion of so dear a friend, and at 
such a time, presented to me by such a donor, and with 

* A copy of " Baxter's Saints' Rest," which had belonged to the late 
Mrs. Thornton. 



161 

such language, — the whole makes up a mass of causes 
for attachment which exceed all calculation, much more 
all words to express. It is, perhaps, well that I take up 
my pen at a time when I have scarcely a minute at 
command ; indeed, at first, I did not mean to touch on 
the topic which -alone has hitherto occupied me; but my 
feelings hurried me away. I meant merely to state that 
unless my sister was worse to-morrow I would bring R. 
over to dinner by about half-past four o'clock, and stay 
all night if you can bed us. I must break off. May 
God bless and keep you. 

Ever your most affectionate friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO LORD LIVERPOOL. 

Brighton, November 22, 1815. 

My dear Lord Liverpool, 

I almost blame myself for not having sooner 
written to your Lordship on the subject of this letter. I 
delayed, that I might at the same time address you on 
another topic : but I can no longer forbear expressing 
to you the grief and shame with which I have heard, 
since I had the pleasure of conferring with your Lord- 
ship in London, of the savage persecution of the Pro- 
testants in the south of France. I remember you said 
you were expecting further intelligence, and I have 
partly abstained from troubling you, trusting that your 
attention was already directed to the object. But silence 
may be misconstrued into want of sympathy ; and both 
for myself, and for all whom I have heard mention the 
subject, I can truly declare that on none did I ever wit- 
ness deeper concern and indignation. 

From more places than one applications have been 
made to me with an eye to public meetings. I am aware, 
however, how undesirable it is to take any step which 
would call into fermentation the old hostihty between 
Protestantism and Popery : in Ireland, especially, the 
consequences might be injurious; indeed, there is no 

14* 



162 

saying where the evil might end, especially if we consider 
that one of our allies, Austria, is Roman Catholic. Yet 
but a very little exertion would cause the Protestant 
flame to burst forth throughout the whole of this island, 
and it would burn brightest, probably, in the north of 
it. There are many, however, who are not deaf to the 
voice of prudence, and who, if they could be privately 
assured that our government was using its influence in 
earnest with the court of France, to induce the latter to 
put down with a strong arm the scandalous outrages on 
the persons and property of the Protestants, would be 
content, for the present at least, to wait the effect of its 
efforts. Let me beg the favour of a few lines from your 
Lordship, as soon as you can favour me with them, on 
this interesting subject, as several friends are waiting for 
communications from me. 

The other matter I will leave for the present, only 
adding that the account, which subsequently to my inter- 
view with you has reached me, that the French Abolition 
is not secured by being made a part of the treaty, like 
the former qualified Abolition, would have forced me to 
trouble you on the subject again, but for the assurances 
your Lordship kindly gave me, that our great object 
should be made sure by a direct stipulation or positive 
recognition in the treaty with France. Reposing on 
your assurance I have dismissed anxiety on that head. 
I remain always. 

My dear Lord Liverpool, 

Your obliged and faithful servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO VISCOUNT SIDMOUTH. 

Brighton, December 10, 1815. 
My dear Lord Sidmouth, 

I am so earnestly entreated to apply to you about 
some poor black men that are wandering about London 
half, or literally more than half, starved with cold and 
hunger, that I cannot well refuse. Yet I am perfectly 



163 

convinced that the object pointed out to you by any 
one on whose representations you could place any 
reliance, would receive the same attention as when 
named to you by myself. But I think you cannot 
have lived to our age without having had requests made 
to you, to which you could not well say no, and ^to 
which, nevertheless, you could scarcely say yes with 
propriety 

And now, on this head, what shall I say more ? 

It is happy for you, however, that it is on Sunday 
that I am called on to address you, when of course I 
confine myself to the matter of charity or necessity, 
w^hich compels me to take up my pen ; otherwise, it is 
so long since I interchanged a word with you, that I 
should be strongly tempted to trespass pretty freely on 
your time. As it is, however, I will only express my 
hope that you and yours are all as well, at least, as usual. 
About a month ago I heard a breathing of an amend- 
ment in a quarter, where, I will not say I should rejoice 
in it as much, but as sincerely as yourself. Yet, even in 
this afflicting dispensation, it is an unspeakable support 
and comfort to have reason to beheve, first, that the 
event did not happen fortuitously; and, secondly, that 
the character of the chief sufferer was such as to afford 
those who loved him most just reason to believe that 
the stroke was medicinal and rem.edial, not judicial ; in 
love, and not in anger or punishment. By and by 
these mysteries of Providence shall be cleared up. I 
have had, you probably may have heard, to attend the 
dying bed of another friend, the widow of my friend 
Thornton. But I cannot omit naming to you one 
circumstance which I, from the connection he has with 
it, may have mentioned more slightly than it deserves. 
It pleased the Almighty, in taking from the nine 
orphans of my friend both their parents to signalize his 
providence, by raising up in Mr. and Mrs. I. foster- 
parents only less valuable than their real ones. But 
while we recognize the Divine hand in such events as 
these, we ought not less to give the due measure of 
praise to the human instruments ; and I want words to 



164 

express my sense of the various admirable qualities 
which Mr. and Mrs. I., and their nearest relatives 
too, have displayed, in volunteering this permanent 
service. In Sir H. I. it really deserves the name of 
magnanimity. 

But I am, indeed, doing the very thing I disclaimed, 
trespassing on your time. I believe you are v^ell ac- 
quainted with Sir H. I know you think highly of 
young I. ; and that there are few things you relish 
so much as to hear the just eulogium of your friends. 

Permit me to beg my kind remembrances to all your 
family, and to assure yoqi that I am, 

My dear Lord S., 
Your Lordship's very sincerely, 

W. WlI-BERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A SON AGED THIRTEEN. 

Brighton, Sunday, December 17, 1815. 



My dearest 



Though it is quite contrary to my ordinary prac- 
tice to write letters on a Sunday, yet having been un- 
able to prepare a few lines for you yesterday, I feel 
myself warranted, by our blessed Saviour's principles 
and example in this respect even in the case of the Jew- 
ish sabbath, to take up my pen to-day, in order that I 
may meet my dear boy on his birth-day, with the assur- 
ance of his father's tenderest concern for his temporal, 
and far more for his eternal happiness. O, my dearest 
boy, could you look into my heart and witness all the 
anxious thoughts and anxieties that are therein, of 
which you are the beloved subject; could you hear 
the earnest prayers that I put up for you, — you would 
then form a better idea than you now can, of the liveli- 
ness, and depth, and force of a father's affectionate soli- 
citude for his much loved child. And on this day 
especially my prayers are poured forth, that the gracious 
Father of the spirits of all flesh, who has promised that 
He will hear the prayers of them that call upon Him, 



165 

may hear my supplications on your behalf, that as 
you have already enjoyed, and still enjoy many advan- 
tages w^hich few others possess, you may not at length 
render them the cause only of your greater condemna- 
tion. 

It makes me tremble however, sometimes, to re- 
flect on the peculiar degree of your resposibility. 
Yet why should I despond ? I know that God will be 
faithful to His promises; that He will give His Holy 
Spirit to them that ask it with sincerity and earnest- 
ness. And will not my dear boy thus ask? Has it 
been already bestowed ? I hope it has in some de- 
gree. But, O grieve it not. Respect the still small 
voice of conscience. Try to please your Saviour, by 
practising daily little acts, of self-denial for His sake, 
since He does not call you to greater sacrifices. Guard 
against thinking of other things when you are saying 
your prayers, and try then to feel as if you were in the 
presence of God and of Jesus Christ. Think of all that 
Christ suffered for you, and also that He is at this mo- 
ment earnestly wishing to bring you to heaven, that 
you may not only escape the flames of hell, but that you 
may enjoy the unspeakable glories of that blessed state, 
where is the fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. 
And when Christ is thus thinking of you, wdll you not 
think of Him ? Between seven and eight especially, I shall 
imagine you in your own little room, and also between 
twelve and one in the day : I shall retire myself into my 
own room, and pray earnestly for you. Remember, my 
dear boy, that we do not naturally love God and Christ, 
and desire above all things to please them as we ought, 
but we must have this love and desire before we can be 
admitted into heaven ; and the change from the one state 
to the other must be effected by the Holy Spirit. My 
heart is very full. I can scarcely refrain from tears, 
though people are coming into the room ; and I shall 
allow myself to pour them forth by and by for you, 
with my prayers, when I get alone. May God bless 
you, my dearest boy : may He enable you to remember 
your Creator and Redeemer in the days of your youth ; 



166 

that you may grow up to be the joy of your old father's 
heart in the days of weakness and decrepitude ; and that 
he may at length meet you in a better world, to part no 
more for ever. Again and again may God in Christ be 
your everlasting portion. 

Ever, ever yours, 

W. WiLBERrORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MISS THORNTON. 

Brighton, December 20, 1815. 

Alas ! alas, my dear M., with what mixed emotions 
have I read your most interesting and affectionate letter, 
for if, on the one hand, I must be void of all — (inter- 
rupted for about an hour) — I was going to say I must be 
void of all feeling. . .... Again interrupted, and when 

at liberty, forced to go out, to pay two visits of busi- 
ness, and I am come in again just as dinner is about to 
be announced — and such, I grieve to say, is the too com- 
mon history of my days, so that of late, instead of clear- 
ing away part of an old epistolary arrear, and writing an 
addition to a Slave Trade piece which is to be translated 
into Italian for the use of the Pope, I have not even 
been able to pay my way ; that is, every day's post has 
brought more claims on my pen, than the day has enabled 
me to satisfy. Add to this, the voluminous- West In- 
dian papers printed since the last session, with which, 
before the next begins, I must be thoroughly acquainted, 
(only arrived this morning,) and I have to put on the 
stocks as soon as possible various letters to foreign cor- 
respondents, which ought by this time to have been half 
way to the places of their several destinations. Oh that 
I could w^ite, and my correspondents read, short hand ; 
I must add, that I could get on with it at your rate of 
galloping ; for I solemnly assure you I speak the truth 
when I tell you that, though a fast, often I fear too fast 
a talker, I am always a slow writer, and now, alas ! a 
much slower than I used to be. 

And now I might almost adopt for my conclusion 



167 

from all these premises the East Indian's close — What 
shall I say more ? More however, much more, I have to 
say ; and I fear the sum of all of it must be, that though 
wishing, from the bottom of my heart, that I could render 
the service to the world, and the gratification to many 
common friends by executing the task* in question, I 
am almost compelled to abandon the hope which I had 
gladly welcomed. Perhaps the work which no one pen 
could execute, might be achieved by a confederacy. If 
Dealtry, and Charles and Robert Grant (and of course, 
in every undertaking, Macaulay) would combine their 
eflTorts with myself, we might effect something. But .... 
worse and worse — the interruptions of this day have at 
length received their completion, by a summons this 
evening to the Pavilion. I conceived that, by a friendly 
intervention with General Bloomfield, I had provided 
against this evil ; and I can only say, that if the invitation 
is to be repeated, I shall soon say farewell to Brighton. 
I must break off. Of course, I have received your most 
interesting parcel. Farewell : every blessing attend you 
all. Tell Inglis I will write soon. 

Ever yours most affectionately, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO SAMUEL ROBERTS, ESQ. 

Near London, January 25, 1816. 
My dear Sir, 

I am but very recently returned with my family 
to this place (Kensington Gore), and am extremely en- 
grossed on my first arrival, owing to my never having 
been able to come over as usual, and set to rights the 
accumulated confusion of a whole session, in order to 
have clear quarters for the next. As to the lottery : — In 
principle, as I have often told you, I entirely concur with 
you, and indeed I have again and again expressed my 
opinion in the very strongest terms. But you ought not 

* A Memoir of Mr. Henry Thornton. 



. 168 

to forget that the amount of the evil is very considerably 
lessened, as I believe, by the regulations introduced to 
prevent insuring. At the same time, I confess — rather 
1 contend — that the thing, being vicious in principle, 
ought to be altogether relinquished. 

I dare not make any engagement to take up this sub- 
ject, because I am pre-engaged to another grievance, if 
I may use a word implying unity, to denote a whole 
long series of physical and moral evils ; but I will sound 
other friends who are like-minded. I shall be animated 
to proceed, if there be any prospect of success ; but I 
remember, too well, that the last time we opposed the 
lottery, when my friend, Mr. Babington, the excellent 
M. P. for Leicester, spoke at much length, and with 
great knowledge of his subject, we had a smaller mi- 
nority than on any other occasion. And when there 
is no prospect of success, and when our opinion has been 
declared again and again with the utmost solemnity, it 
scarcely seems advisable to employ on any evil that time 
and trouble which, otherwise directed, might be produc- 
tive of practical benefit. 

I hope our friends in your circle are well. I have 
felt a greatly increased interest in James Montgomery, 
since I heard of him from some friends of mine who 
passed through Sheffield, in the autumn of 1814. But 
I am sadly neglecting several most pressing claims of 
business, and must abruptly subscribe myself, with every 
friendly wish, my dear Sir, 

Yours very sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

Kensington Gore, February 1, 1816. 

My dear Friend, 

Many and cordial thanks for your long letter. It 
is just what I wanted to receive — an account of the 
absent friend and her goings on : and on the spot 
I take up my pen to begin an answer, which shall be 



169 

completed piecemeal, as opportunities shall offer. You 
mention my reception at the Pavilion : nothing could be 
more gracious ; I should rather say, more unaffectedly 
gentlemanlike. He personally invited me to dine with 
him, desiring me to fix my day ; and when, of course, I 
expressed myself willing on any day, — " Well, then, 
to-morrow. I assure you," he added, " you will hear at' 
my table nothing you will disapprove : I hope, indeed, 
at no time ; but if ever there did any thing of that sort 
pass, there should be nothing of it when you should be 
with me." He invited, as I afterwards heard accident- 
ally. Lord Ellenborough to meet me, and was really 
quite the English gentleman at the head of his table. 
Poor fellow ! I longed to have a private half hour with 
him ; for it is sad work. Dinner comes on table at six ; 
at nine the dinner party goes into the other rooms, in 
one of which is music, in another cards, in others, and 
a long gallery 160 feet long, walking about, till about 
a quarter or half-past twelve, and then, on the Prince's 
retiring, all of us depart. But really it is a large part 
of existence, from six to half-past twelve daily, or rather 
nightly. 

The Princess Charlotte is a fine fair German looking 
personage, with a sensible countenance and a com- 
manding air. I believe, but nothing certain was 
known, that there is foundation for the report of her 
being likely to become the wife of Prince Cobourg, a 
very handsome foreigner, of high blood, and, which is 
better, no dominions. By the way, I forgot the civilest 
part of all the Prince's conduct towards me. Finding 
invitations to the evening parties come pretty thick upon 
me, I mentioned one evening to Bloomfield, that evening 
engagements broke in upon my family plans ; that I was 
at Brighton for a quiet life, my boys at home, &c. ; and 
that, though highly honoured and gratified (really true) 
by His Royal Highness's kindnesses, I wished to decline 
frequent invitations. The Prince himself was told of it, 
and, in the handsomest way possible, begged me to suit 
my own convenience : he should always be happy to see 
me, &c. I am forced to break off, indeed I have kept 

VOL. II. 15 



170 

this by me for two or three days in the hopes of a vacant 
eveninor ; but I had better send it than keep it any 
longer. Oh, how I sympathize with good old Baxter in 
feeling peculiar pity for the great and high of the earth ! 
May God's best blessings attend you. Kindest remem- 
brances. 

Ever yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. 

Wednesday morning. 

My dear Stephen, 

I have been quite uneasy since we parted, from 
the fear of my not having treated you with the same 
affectionate disposition to conform to your wishes, which 
you always show to conform to mine, or even to antici- 
pate them. Yet I must do myself the justice of saying, 
that I am not conscious of any selfish wish to consult 
my own incHnations rather than yours ; but I have 
sometimes thought, when you ask me whether I had 
rather do such a thing, or the contrary, that I answer 
with more strict truth than is commonly practised, or 
than you, from living in the world, are used to. (But I 
must not write so early in the day, and you perhaps 
may not quite understand me.) As to coming to you 
to-morrow, if I knew what you really wished, it would 
give [me pleasure to do it. So observant are you of 
every opportunity of promoting my comfort, it would 
be shocking, if even in such little petitesses as these, I 
had not real pleasure in consulting your wishes. So 
honestly tell me what you wish, and I shall be gratified 
by acting accordingly. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



171 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO CHARLES GRANT, ESQ. 

Kensington Gore, Friday evening, April 19, 1816. 

My dear Friend, 

Though I thank God I am considerably better, 
yet I have now and then such sensations as indicate to 
me but too clearly that I am not yet well. And I am 
the more disposed to take care of myself, from the hope 
that by a little more nursing I may be once more fit for 
my ordinary labours. I congratulate you on being out 
of harness, and I trust I shall now and then see a little of 
you, since you will no longer be imprisoned in the India 
House. 

I feel the importance of the subject of your letter ; 
and I will request of Lord Liverpool the interview you 
suggest. But I think there are many reasons why it 
would be desirable that you should accompany me. 
Lord Liverpool may be supposed to have some official 
dread of any one whom he may deem so much of a 
theorist as myself, and therefore to counteract that im- 
pression, and to prove to them that my sentiments and 
feelings on the subject in question may be participated 
by a gentleman who is as well acquainted with India as 
yourself, it may be highly serviceable for you to accom- 
pany me. I must not, however, use your name till you 
authorize me so to do. But if you will give me leave I 
will write to Lord Liverpool in both our names, and 
desire him to appoint a time for seeing us. My dear 
Sir, though we meet so seldom, I can truly assure you 
that you and yours possess a secure place in my heart ; 
and our not seeing more of each other is a standing 
grievance with me. Farewell, my dear Sir. 

I am. 
Ever your affectionate friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



172 



THE BISHOP OF CALCUTTA, DR. MIDDLETON, TO WM. 
WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bombay, June 21, 1816, 

My dear Sir, 

I have within these few days been favoured with 
your obliging letter of the 30th of November. The 
latter part of it, in which I am personally interested, 
though your candour induces you to consider the point 
referred to as a public concern, I will dismiss as briefly 
as possible. Since I had the pleasure of writing to you, 
I have had some experience of the value of money here, 
and of the demands to which the Bishop is liable, most 
of which, if it be his duty to recommend and support 
the cause of Christianity, he ought rather to encourage 
than repel. It seems not to have been considered that 
the person called the Bishop of Calcutta is in truth also 
Bishop of Madras and of Bombay, and of every place in 
this vast empire, where Christian institutions require 
his support, or distress solicits his assistance ; and after, 
travelling, as I now have done, through a considerable 
part of India, to make myself acquainted with the true 
state of things, I am convinced, that in hardly any sta- 
tion in the world is more good to be accomplished by 
adequate means, that in that to which Providence has 
called me. I am well aware that the most ample 
means may be alienated to the purposes of avarice, and - 
that there can be no security for their proper applica- 
tion. You do me the honour to believe that this incon- 
venience is not to be apprehended in my own individual 
instance, and I hope that you judge rightly. I am very 
little able to enter into the views or feelings of any man, 
who, in such a situation, and especially not having a 
family, should find nothing more captivating to his ima- 
gination than the prospect of accumulating a fortune. 
But of this more than enough. 

I reached this place on my visitation about five weeks 
since, having left Calcutta in December, and thence 
proceeded by sea to Madras, and by land through Pon- 
dicherry, Tranquebar, Tanjore, and by Cape Comorin, 



173 

through Travancore to Cochin, where I embarked for 
Bombay ; and by the time I reach Calcutta again, my 
visitation will have carried me, by sea and by land, 
6000 miles. My land journey through the south of 
India has been very interesting to me ; and though the 
country is in general dreary, and some fatigue attends 
travelling, however slow the progress, in this languid 
climate, I would not willingly forego the recollection of 
what I have seen and observed. You are aware that 
the native Protestant Christianity of this country is 
nearly confined to the parts I have visited, and it 
attracted a great share of my attention. These Chris- 
tians are in general very well taught, and are able to 
give at least as satisfactory an account of their faith as 
the lower classes of people in England : they are intelli- 
gent, humble, decent in their demeanour, and regular in 
their habits; and I think that Christianity is visibly a 
blessing to them, even without any reference to futurity. 
It is natural to ask, is this blessing so well appreciated, as 
to be in the course of more general diffusion ? and I really 
must acknowledge, that I have not observed any thing 
which can encourage such a hope, at least to any great 
extent. Very few of these Christians are converts, but 
are the sons and grandsons of converts, and there are 
circumstances, not perhaps so strongly felt in the days 
of their progenitors, which, though they do not produce 
apostacy, are of sufficient force to operate against con- 
version. We are now the acknowledged sovereigns of 
this vast region, and the natives seem to ascribe to us a 
power even beyond that which we actually possess. In 
this state of things, they have no idea that we are re- 
strained by prudential motives, from giving to Chris- 
tianity any degree of encouragement and support which 
we may think it deserves; and they know that the 
Mussulmans, even in places where their power was not 
firmly established, did always plant their religion, how- 
ever violent and unjustifiable were the means. This 
difference of conduct induces a comparison ; and if the 
result w^as only that it impressed them with the tolerant 
spirit of our faith, it would be well ; but it goes much 

15* 



174 

further. A learned Brahmin told me in Bengal, that 
" the English did not wish the natives to become con- 
verts to Christianity ;" and he justified his remark, by 
adverting to the very little which we had done to show 
our religion. The Brahmin's opinion, I have little doubt, 
is that of every thinking man among the Hindoos ; and 
they are led to question the strength or the existence of 
that conviction, which is apparently so indifferent about 
convincing others, and so backward in showing favour 
to those who are actually convinced. 

I receive a multitude of addresses from the Christians 
in the south; but they generally turn upon one or both 
of these two points, — they request to be employed under 
a Christian government, and they seek to be exempted 
from drawing the rutt, or idol-car, in the pagan proces- 
sion. As to the former, it is certainly true, that though 
the profession of Christianity is not by any means a for- 
mal disqualification for the subordinate offices filled by 
natives, very few native Christians are actually employed. 
I have conversed with several gentlemen, who have the 
disposal of such appointments, with the view of recom- 
mending the Christians to their notice ; and I remarked 
that the ground of rejection has usually been, either an 
opinion that the Christians are very undeserving, or an 
unwillingness to invest persons with authority whom the 
other natives would not respect. I can account for this 
only by supposing, that the vices of one class of converts 
have been charged indiscriminately on all. The Popish 
converts are generally very exceptionable, and unhappily 
they are, even in the south of India, perhaps as three to 
one Protestant, so that the name of Christian convert is 
not in good report ; besides that it is not asked whether 
any man be himself a convert, or of a family which has 
been Christian for three or four generations. As to 
dragging the rutt, it is indeed a sore grievance : one 
man told me that he was severely beaten every year on 
the occasion of a great heathen festival for refusing to 
assist, but that he would rather die. In the I'emoval of 
this complaint there may be some difficulty. In taking 
possession of territory, we guarantied to the pensioned 



175 

princes the integrity of their religion, of which these 
festivals and processions are the principal part ; and the 
rutts are so enormously large and heavy, that they re- 
quire the whole male population of a village to drag 
them along, and the people, without reference to their 
rehgion, are bound to perform this service by a sort of 
feudal tenure. I have not had time to inquire fully what 
can be done in this business, but it is a subject of great 
triumph to the heathen, as well as of discouragement to 
the Christians ; and these two considerations — I mean 
the want of employment and the want of toleration (for 
so these poor people very naturally regard it) — are well 
calculated to operate against conversion among the lower 
classes ; from whom, however, it is too true, for the 
present, that the only converts are made. As to the 
higher orders, they know very little about our religion, 
and that little excites no interest. Many of them will 
hardly believe that we have a religion, and even when 
they are assured to the contrary, they proceed not to 
inquire what it is, but merely add it to the list of super- 
stitions, of which they had heard before, all of which 
they maintain have one common object, and really 
mean the same thing. The surprising apathy of these 
people, and their want of all curiosity, is one of the 
most unfortunate circumstances in their character. 
There is within three miles of this place a populous 
Hindoo village, many of the oldest inhabitants of which, 
as I am assured, never visited Bombay. Many similar 
facts are within my knowledge, and they are not unim- 
portant : they prove that we have to act upon a torpor 
of intellect, which we must dispel before any thing else 
can be done. " The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor 
the ear filled with hearing," is a fine description of the 
frame of mind which is ardent in pursuit of knowledge ; 
but it is totally inapplicable to the Hindoo. 

You have shown, however, in a kindred cause, that 
difficulties may be great without being insuperable, and 
that wherever good is the object we ought not to despair. 
I do not think, so far as I can judge, that the present 
case is desperate, provided the proper means be adopted ; 



176 

though even then I have no hope that any great and 
general result may be expected by us of the present 
generation. You have a stupendous fabric to over- 
throw : its foundations are broad and deep ; its high 
antiquity excites veneration. The few who possess any 
knowledge are interested in protecting it ; and implicit 
obedience to all which they teach is incorporated with 
the public institutions, and interwoven with the feelings 
and associations of the vulgar from their earliest child- 
hood. The first object probably which attracts the eye 
of an infant is some ridiculous form, which he is taught 
to regard as an object of homage and awe. Against a 
system thus firmly compacted no great success was to 
be expected from any thing which has hitherto been 
done. We have had no church establishment which 
was deserving of the name; our places of Christian 
worship have been few, and generally very mean; our 
toleration has been such as to be mistaken for complete 
indifference ; the missionaries who have come out are 
known to be unaccredited by the government ; and the 
minds of the people, owing to the decay of native insti- 
tutions and our faiUng to substitute any thing in their 
place, are said to be buried in deeper ignorance than 
they were two centuries ago. If this statement, then, 
be generally correct, our efforts should be directed to 
two points : we should exhibit our religion to the natives 
without reserve ; and we should endeavour to remove 
the prejudices which prevent their seeing it in its true 
light ; and if political considerations stand in the way of 
either of these, I fear that the glory of christianizing 
India is not designed by Providence for our nation. 

In the view of exhibiting our religion, our church esta- 
blishment should bear some proportion to the power and 
dignity of the mother-country ; for else we seem to tell 
the natives, that, even in our own estimation, our reli- 
gion is a subordinate concern: our clergy should be 
more numerous, and should have a respectable rank in 
society, instead of being placed below lieutenants and 
surgeons, and all but writers. Handsome churches 
should be seen wherever we have civil or military estab- 



177 

lishments ; and we should incorporate into our churches 
the native Christians in the south, (who, I beheve, would 
gladly join in our communion,) by building them churches, 
which they exceedingly want, and giving our ordination 
to their native priests, with some means of support. 
Our endeavour should be to form congregations wherever 
we can, and to build them churches, rather than to con- 
fine ourselves to the small number both of churches and 
of clergy, which is indispensably required. And if, 
without holding out a bribe to conversion, we should 
show that we regarded with some feehng of interest, 
not perhaps new converts, but the Christian sons of 
converts, we should at least remove one source of dis- 
couragement. 

^But still there would be need of attending to the 
other point suggested — that of dispelling their pre- 
judices, which prevent the natives from seeing our 
religion in its true light ; for merely to see it would be 
insufficient : and this must be chiefly by education. As 
to giving them a Christian education at once, it would 
evidently, if it were practicable, be all that is required ; 
but it is out of the question. The utmost which can be 
done is to found schools, in which, with the elements of 
useful knowledge, children should learn our language ; 
and from this latter acquisition, though the English 
books in use contained not a syllable upon Christianity, 
I should anticipate important results. Between the 
English and the native languages there is not more 
difference than between our modes of thinking and theirs 
upon the common questions of life : our facts, our in- 
ferences, our remarks, our good sense, and our practical 
application of our knowledge, are things quite foreign 
to the native mind, and could hardly find their way 
thither without rendering it a very unfit recipient for 
what is usually obtruded on it as sacred truth. The 
question is, whether schools of this kind would find 
pupils? and I think it is the general opinion that they 
would, at least at the presidencies and principal stations, 
especially if proficiency in the English language were 
made a quahfication. Som^ething of this kind is now 



178 

projected at Calcutta, under the patronage of the go- 
vernment, to be called the Hindoo College of Calcutta, 
for teaching Bengalee and English to 300 children. I 
regret that I am absent ; though, for obvious reasons, it 
might not be expedient that I should take an active 
part in it. As to the translating and dissemination of 
the Scriptures in the native languages, though it can 
hardly fail of some effect, I am led to infer that more is 
expected from it than is really warranted by the circum- 
stances of this country. The native mind is not suffi- 
ciently advanced to be benefited by it in a great degree : 
the adult has a great deal to unlearn before he can learn 
any thing else ; and the Bible Society, both at Columbo 
and at this place, has been obhged to declare th^t 
schools and elementary tracts must be the first objects 
of attention. 

I find, however, that my letter is proceeding to an 
unreasonable length, and I must be more brief upon 
topics of less importance. When I left Calcutta it was 
my intention to pass some time in the country of the 
Syrian Christians ; but when I reached Travancore, the 
season was so far advanced, that no time was to be lost 
before I embarked for this place. I stayed at Cochin, 
however, three or four days, and had a visit from the 
Syrian Bishop, attended by several of his clergy. I had 
the pleasure of presenting him with a copy of the Oxford 
edition of the " Philoxenian Version of the New Testa- 
ment," of which neither the Bishop nor his clergy seemed 
even to have heard ; they are, indeed, in so depressed a 
state, that the wonder is that they possess any learning 
at all ; though this defect promises to be remedied by a 
school or college under the patronage of the resident, 
Colonel Munro. In return for my present the Bishop 
has engaged to superintend the transcribing by some of 
his clergy of a complete liturgy and ritual of his church, 
which I am anxious to examine, as the only authentic 
mode of judging what their tenets really are. I have 
no expectation of finding them to be in so close resem- 
blance with those of the Church of England as Dr. 
Buchanan has led people to suppose. They acknow- 



179 

Jedge seven sacraments, and in their forms of worship, 
as well as in those of the Greek and Armenian churches, 
there is a great deal to which we English Protestants 
should object. The further, indeed, we look into these 
matters, the better shall we be satisfied with the Church 
of England. Still, however, the Malabar Syrians are 
an interesting people, and I wish to become better ac- 
quainted with their actual condition ; for which reason 
I purpose to touch at Cochin on my return, and to em- 
ploy a fortnight in getting together all the information 
I can. The Bishop has lent me, in the mean time, some 
liturgical MSS., that I may not be altogether a stranger 
to his doctrines ; but hitherto I have been so much taken 
up with more important business, that I have scarcely- 
glanced at their contents. In truth I find my situation 
in India to be almost any thing rather than one of literary 
leisure and inquiry. 

I am well acquainted with Mr. Grant's Essays on the 
Hindoos, which furnishes, I really think, the best in- 
formation on the subject which is to be obtained in 
England ; and even in India a great deal of research 
would be requisite before any important additions could 
be made to ^what Mr. Grant has collected. You advert 
also to the public disputation in Persia with the late 
Mr. Martyn : it is unfortunate that Mohammedism does 
not depend upon argument for its support, else it would 
have disappeared from the earth long since, with all 
other false religions ; for I take Christianity to be the 
only rehgion in the world which rests upon what we call 
Evidences. By the way, what a religion is Mohammed- 
ism as a rule of life ! I have been looking through Sir 
J. Malcolm's " History of Persia," — a very interesting 
book, especially to a person who is now within a few 
hundreds of miles of the Persian coast : but what hor- 
rors does he detail in the lives of many very strict fol- 
lowers of the Prophet ! The last King of Persia, Aga 
Mahommed, was absolutely a monster ; and yet we are 
told that, whatever had been the fatigues of the day, he 
uniformly rose at midnight to offer his devotions as pre- 
scribed by his religion. I much question whether a 



180 

twentieth part of such atrocity be compatible with the 
loosest profession of Christianity, or could even subsist 
in a country where Christianity is acknowledged ; and I 
am disposed to think, when I reflect on the unfeehng 
character of Buonaparte, that he has been saved from 
the perpetration of still greater enormities by not having 
been born in the East. If he had been brought up in 
Persia, and in the religion of Mohammed, I see no rea- 
son to doubt that he would have rivalled the very worst 
of the heroes of Sir J. Malcolm's history. 

You have heard, no doubt, of the difficulties into which 
we are brought here, in consequence of sending out 
Scotch chaplains. Such a measure might, in England, 
be made very plausible, but nothing could be more 
needless or more mischievous. The Scots here are, in- 
deed, very numerous : many of these are Episcopahans, 
but many more were Presbyterians ; but they had gene- 
rally adopted, and appeared to be perfectly satisfied 
with the Church of England ; and they were not less 
likely to be satisfied with it because irregularities were 
to be corrected, and better order established by a pro- 
vision of the legislature. The experiment, however, 
was not tried: a Scotch chaplain came out in the same 
ship with me, and others followed him ; and it is pecu- 
liarly unfortunate that he thought it his duty at the 
commencement of his career to open a battery against 
the Church of England, and to declare that " the church 
in India," meaning his own church, is a legal establish- 
ment. He still persists in the same claims. He holds 
kirk sessions, (a thing, I believe, unknown in the dioceses 
of England and Wales,) and publishes their orders in 
the newspapers ; and he has lately begun to solemnize 
marriages. In these proceedings he appears to meet 
with no check in this quarter; though if any clergyman 
under my jurisdiction had attacked Presbyterianism on 
this gentleman's arrival, and had merely denied of it 
what he has affirmed, I should certainly have marked 
such indiscretion with my strongest censure. The aflfair 
gives me great concern, and it is impossible not to anti- 
cipate the consequences. The English and the Scotch 



181 

in India had hitherto been as one church and one 
nation, and it was not desirable to tell them that they 
were really distinct. We are too few to afford to be 
divided, and especially to be divided without a boun- 
dary. I understand from Calcutta that the spirit of 
dissension is already abroad there, and is producing its 
usual fruits ; and if it is to be maintained, nothing worse 
could have happened for the interests of Christianity : 
every difference among Christians in this country is a 
diversion in favour of the false religions. 

You will be pleased to hear that I have succeeded in 
estabUshing Committees of the Society for Promoting 
Christian Knowledge at the three Presidencies. We 
have remitted above lOOOZ. to the Parent Society ; and 
I am sanguine in the hope that the books to be sent out 
to us will find their way into barracks, hospitals, gaols, 
and schools throughout India. I have reason to beheve 
that there are English regiments without a single Prayer- 
Book. 

I hope we shall not hear of any mutiny in the south 
of India for the next twelve months, as there are persons 
who would lay the blame upon my visitation. All that 
I know is, that the Brahmins were everywhere very 
civil to me, and I to them ; and that, in one place, a 
deputation of them waited upon me, considering that I 
was invested with a religious character, to request me to 
obtain for them from the government a larger allowance 
for the expenses of their pagoda. 

I am much pleased with this place. The town is but 
indifferent, but the harbour is very beautiful ; and the 
Governor here. Sir Evan Nepean, is ready to afford me 
his aid in every Christian object. He is, indeed, a valu- 
able man, and his example has produced great good in 
this settlement. 

I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, 

With the truest respect, 
Your most obliged and faithful servant, 

T. F. Calcutta. 

VOL. II. 16 



182 ^ 

ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Keswick, July 25, 1816. 
My dear Sir, 

* * * I have sent to inquire if Mr. Francis 
be at Keswick. It is not two years since your excellent 
friend Mr. J. Bowdler was here, and after a day, which 
I am sure all the party at one time must have remem- 
bered as among those which were eminently delightful, 
I dined with him and poor John Calthorpe in the kitchen 
of an old farm-house. They are gone ! and I who sur- 
vive them have survived also my best earthly hopes and 
highest earthly enjoyments. They only who knew me 
in my daily habits can imagine, or believe, how great 
has been the extent of my loss, or how it is possible that 
a child of ten years should have been so entirely the 
companion, as well as pupil, of his father. I was re- 
covering my Greek in the process of teaching Herbert ; 
we w^ere learning German together, and were to have 
begun Saxon in the same manner, as soon as the Saxon 
Chronicle should have been published. For his age, 
there was no better Latin scholar ; in Greek, he was fit 
for the fifth form at Westminster; and he was acquiring 
with little expense of time, and no trouble, the French 
and Spanish. With all these acquirements going on, 
his life was like a continued holiday; so much was it his 
disposition and mine to mingle sport with study, and 
find recreation in all things. He was the constant com- 
panion of my walks, and felt as much interest in my 
pleasures as I did in his. His disposition was as beautiful 
as his intellect, and therefore I had ever an ominous 
apprehension that he was not intended to grow up on 
earth, where it was not possible that his nature could be 
improved, and but too certain that it must, in some 
degree, be sullied. The feeling which thus prepared 
me for this privation has not been without its use in 
enabling me to submit to it with resignation. 1 hope 
and believe .that I have borne this affliction as it becomes 
a Christian. The stoicism which I endeavoured to 
practise in youth (and not without signal benefit) might 



183 

have supported, but it could not have consoled me. 
My heart is weaned from the world, and the brightest 
spot in the prospect before me is where the light from 
heaven shines upon the grave. Yet do not imagine 
that I give way to sorrow, or indulge in vain retrospects 
and guilty regret. " The Lord gave ; the Lord hath 
taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." Never 
were these words pronounced with more heartfelt sin- 
cerity than when I repeated them in the most painful 
scenes and moments of my life. I am thankful for the 
abundant blessings which I still possess ; but of all things 
most thankful for having possessed a son whom I loved 
so entirely, who was so entirely worthy to be loved, and 
whom I shall one day rejoin. 

Believe me, my dear Sir, 

Respectfully and truly yours, 

Robert Southey. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO VISCOUNT SIDxMOUTH. 

Hastings, December 14, 1816. 

My dear Lord S., 

I have long been wishing for some plea for 
troubling you with a letter, having been disappointed of 
the pleasure I had promised myself of accepting your 
kind invitation to Richmond Park during this recess. If 
you recollect my family circumstances during the very 
little time I have been near London, you will the less 
wonder at this inability. I assure you it is not want of 
inclination; there are now very few indeed left with 
whom I can even talk over the old scenes about their 
interior ; very few, indeed, who are at all acquainted 
with the real particulars of it. 

But I will put on a separate paper the business on 
which I have to address the Secretary of State, though 
I did not mean so to do when I took up my pen. Let me 
only add, that in passing through town, or halting at 
Kensington Gore for a very few days, had I foreseen I 
could not afford to accept your friendly invitation, I 



184 

should have tried to obtain even a quarter of an hour of 
you at your office to hear about matters which the nevvs^ 
papers do not mention. 

I hope all your family are v^^ell with one exception. 
It is, indeed, a most afflicting, may I not add, a most 
mysterious dispensation ! But I really have no doubt 
whatever (I have distinct ideas in my mind when I make 
the assertion) that it will hereafter appear to have been 
for the party's real good, and if so, how little will it sig- 
nify, or rather, how little will it appear to have signified 
some few thousands of ages hence, whether the progress 
of this particular specimen of moral vegetation was sud- 
denly chilled and arrested, or whether it had been suf- 
fered to proceed from the interesting beauty of its early 
bloom, to the rich maturity of its fruitage ; for never let 
us forget that grand consideration in the estimate of such 
cases, that we have to do with a Being who sees events 
in their causes, and effects in their tendencies, who, in 
short, to use a homely but expressive phrase, which I 
am sure I do not feel that I am using irreverently, will 
take the will for the deed. Few passages of Scripture 
have sometimes comforted me more in this view than 
that where the Almighty is represented as having said to 
David, when the offer to build a temple was refused, (I 
have been at the trouble of looking out the passage ; it 
is 1 Kings viii. 18.) "Whereas it was in thine heart to 
build an house unto My name, thou didst well that it 
was in thine heart." I am persuaded I need not make 
the application (in writing to you) of this passage to the 
class of cases to which I was above alluding. How pro- 
bable is it, I often think, that it will then appear (I 
mean then, when all the mysteries of divine providence 
shall be developed), that the individual, the loss of whose 
future usefulness we have deplored, has been saved from 
some unforeseen evil which might have befallen him, to 
his grievous suffering at least, — perhaps to the impair- 
ing of his moral principles. How little, when I began, 
did I intend to spend either your time or my own, as 
I have been doing ; but I am sure you will require 
no apology for my sending what I have written out of 



185 

the fulness of my heart. I will only add, that I am 
ever, 

My dear Lord S., 

Yours, very sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

6, Widcombe Terrace, Bath, January 1, 1817. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

Your kindness will, I dare say, make you anxious 
to have a line from me to-day. I am, blessed be God, 
free from pain, and, I think, every way better; but I 
cannot, like you, find spirits for conversation and work 
too. The former is a great effort with me, and exhausts 
and unfits me for the other. It is your easy chair ; it is 
my plough and pickaxe. My only adequate refreshment 
after desk labour is light reading, or solitary musing in 
a walk. The many kind suggestions, therefore, which 
you gave in a late letter about friends in or near Bath 
were strong dissuasions with me from going there. 
I mean to be a hermit, and I want nothing now but a 
little working health to be very comfortable. My lodg- 
ings (or rather my house, for I have a whole one,) are 
quite delightful both within and without. The scene 
from my windows riant and beautiful, in spite of the 
season and weather. On the side of an amphitheatre, 
covered with gardens and meadows still verdant, stud- 
ded with pretty boxes, and lined and fringed with colon- 
nadps of trees, which speak even now what their foliage 
must add to the scene, a cascade and two pieces of 
water just below me, — and no Bath, no road that exhi- 
bits during hours a single carriage, nothing beyond the 
rim of the ornamented punch-bowl, half down the side 
of which I have but the sky. I had marked the place 
when last at Bath for its privacy and beauty, its near 
access to the pumps without sight of the company, and 
its neighbourhood to Claverton Downs, my favourite 
promenade; but ignorant of Bath, and forgetful of 

16* 



186 

names, I could not describe intelligibly to others, and if 
I had they would have told me there was no lodgings 
here, being quite surprised when I at last, after two or 
three sallies, forced the place, and told them I had got 
lodo-ings on Widcombe Terrace. If this was good luck, 
you will say it was still better to find here exactly every 
thing I wanted, the best desk for writing I ever met 
with, and all the accommodations for an invalid. I own 
I was suprised to find one of my great desiderata also 
provided for me. I regretted on leaving town that I 
could not, without too much trouble and expense, carry 
my encyclopedia, which at a distance from large libra- 
ries I always have occasion to refer to. But, lo ! I find 
it in the back parlour, which I had not gone into before. 
I must add one anecdote worth notice. On sitting down 
to breakfast this morning I was going to take up a 
volume of " Hume," in 12mo., or of " Forster's Essays," 
which I had brought with me, but, adverting to the day, 
thought I would have a little of something better, and 
therefore opened another book I had put in my trunk, 
which you know to have been a great favourite with 

my dear S- : " Doddridge's Life." It was one of her 

give-away duodecimos, probably never opened before. 
I opened upon, and read only one paragraph, which is 
at the 359th page, and is as follows : — "I would thank- 
fully and cheerfully renew the dedication of myself to 
God's service, and would humbly resolve, by His gra- 
cious assistance, to spend the next year of my life in 
more ardent devotion, in more important and resolute 
studies, in more vigorous attempts for public usefulness, 
than I have ever yet known. I humbly refer to Hina 
the disposal of all events, particularly to determine as to 
the continuance of my life. I think if I have any reason 
to desire it may be lengthened out, next to securing 
brighter evidences of my title to eternal glory by my 
faithful obedience, it is that I may be able to do good 
in the world." 

I put down the book, having food enough for medita- 
tion, and I am not ashamed to say to you, that one 
topic of it was the apparent strangeness of finding, as 



187 

I opened the book at random, that very passage under - 
my eye, so suitable to my situation, duties and feelings, 
as well as to the season. Let the shallow reasoners, 
who distinguish a general from a particular Providence, 
or the cattle who perceive no Providence at all, laugh 
if they will. For my part, who am not less certain by 
experience of that delightful truth, the intimate ever 
present watchfulness of Divine Power, Wisdom, and 
Goodness over our highly- favoured race, than I am of 
any truth testified by my senses, I find no difficulty, and 
am conscious of no presumption, in ascribing my taking 
up that book, and opening it just where I did, to the 
suggestion of a superior mind governing the imagina- 
tions of my own. Perhaps it was my dear S , now 

one of the ministering spirits sent forth to minister to 
those who (unless disinherited by their own private 
choice) shall be heirs of salvation. But they are allowed 
only to suggest, to warn, and so to adjust the spiritual 
aid to the exigency of the case, that we may not be 
tempted beyond what we are able to bear. They must 
put the ijumortal infant on its feet, and teach it to walk, 
not make it rickety by constant carriage. An inclining 
power " assisting, not restraining, reason's choice," is 
the utmost range of their province ; nor have 1 ever felt 
the slightest difficulty in reconciling such superior ten- 
dence with a will morally free. 

I must abstain, for the present at least, from the sub- 
ject to which the last thought was leading me, a subject 
artificial and presumptuous, reasoning on which has 
made many infidels, and much distorted the amiable 
features of the Gospel in minds otherwise devout. 
I am, my dear Wilberforce, 

Ever veiy affectionately yours, 

James Stephei^. 



188 

ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ, 

Keswick, January 31, 1817. 

My dear Sir, 

I have not seen the book which you speak of, 
but I have transmitted the substance of your remarks to 
the Reviewer (be he who he may, for I know not), 
observing, of course, the secrecy which you desire, and 
giving them all the weight I can. Many years ago, I 
remember upon some forgotten occasion, either talking 
or writing to Scott upon the subject of Claverhouse and 
the Covenanters to the very purport of your remarks, 
and I recollect observing, that though this bloody per- 
secutor was celebrated on earth by the name of Dundee, 
Claverhouse was the name by which the devil knew 
him. James Graham had the right feeling on the sub- 
ject, and never wrote more like a poet than when he 
touched upon it. I urged him as strongly as I could to 
take those times and circumstances as the groundwork 
either for a dramatic or narrative poem — a subject per- 
fectly congenial to his powers, and which he could have 
executed admirably. But he preferred ploughing away 
in his " Georgics," and wasting his efforts upon a ste- 
rile soil. 

I shall look anxiously for your name in the Debates. 
From false doctrine, heresy, and schism, Parliament 
cannot deUver us ; but from sedition, privy conspiracy, 
and rebellion it may. 

Believe me, my dear Sir, 

Yours, with the greatest respect, 

Robert Southey. 



ALEXANDER KNOX, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Dublin, Dawson Street, March 23, 1817, 

My dear Sir, 

I request your permission to present to you my 
particular friend — the most reverend Doctor Everard, 
coadjutor to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel, 



189 

and now going to London as an accredited agent and 
watchman from his brethren, to be in waiting, lest their 
interests should suffer for want of superintendence on 
the spot, during the looked-for discussion. 

Upon the use of his going at this time I can form 
no opinion. He merely obeys the injunction of the 
R. C. Bishops ; and I imagine does not distinctly know 
what he is to do, or with whom to confer. To relieve 
my poor friend, as far as in me lies, from this embar- 
rassment, I thus endeavour to procure for him the 
honour and pleasure of conferring with you. I will not 
place him before you as a true specimen of the Irish 
R. C. prelate, but if they could take him as their model 
it would be a blessing to them and the country. 

I would not take this liberty, if I did not hope that 
you would be interested by my friend. Possibly you 
never yet met a creature of this exact species — namely, 
a R. C. archbishop in partibus infideUum. You must 
know that his archbishopric is no less than that of the 
far-famed Mitylene. This idea can hardly be disso- 
ciated from the burlesque. But the man himself averts 
every such impression. He is upright, pious, charitable, 
simple of heart, full of kind feeling, as good a subject 
as lives, and as well affected to the Estabhshed Church 
as a consistent Roman Catholic can be ; for he is cer- 
tainly a consistent and attached Roman Catholic. 

I do not, in introducing this worthy and interesting 
man to your acquaintance, intend or wish that you 
should tax yourself in time or attentions in any manner 
or degree implying inconvenience. I should wish him 
to have the comfort of one conversation with you, and 
let your own convenience or inclination settle every 
thing farther. 

Were Lord Calthorpe well, and in London, I should 
take the same liberty with his lordship which I am 
taking with you ; but as I have heard poor accounts of 
his health, and also that he intends to go abroad, I do 
not hazard the attempt. I most cordially wish him to 
grow better, and to enjoy a pleasant and (if it be the 
will of Heaven) not rapid course through this lower 



190 

world to that better one above, where, sooner or later, 
I have confidence of his arriving. 

I am as zealous as ever for Roman Catholic enfran- 
chisement. My motives spread out would fill a volume. 
I desire it on civil accounts ; I desire it on religious ac- 
counts ; I desire it as the sole means, in this country, of 
terminating dark conspiracy and noonday assassination. 
How can these mischiefs be eflTectually prevented, but 
by residents of the rank above, superintending and in- 
fluencing the rank below? 

Take but degree away : untune that string. 
And hark ! what discord follows ! 

In the ordinary distribution of society, it would seem 
that the higher portions were not more than sufficient 
to restrain and influence the lower classes. But if so, 
look at the state of Ireland, and say, could she fare 
better than she does, seeing that in her, through diflference 
of religion and alienation of mind, the mass of the popu- 
lation is under no such superintendence? The Protestant 
part of the lower classes has it more than in proportion ; 
while in the part where it is most needed, it neither does 
nor can exist — the man of station being paralysed, the 
man of wealth being unattracted. 
Believe me. 

Most cordially yours, 

Alex. Knox. 

P. S. I ought to add, that Dr. Everard is a high 
favourite of the Archbishop of Cashel, whose strong 
language to me not long since, was, " I delight in Dr. 
Everard !" 



ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Keswick, March 23, 1817. 

My dear Sir, 

In the year 1794, and in the twentieth year of 
my age, I wrote "Wat Tyler." It was immediately 
taken to London by poor Lovell (afterwards my brother- 



191 

in-law), and put into Ridgeway's hands. Soon after- 
wards (a few weeks) I went to London myself for a few 
days, and saw Ridgeway in Newgate ; and was informed 
that he and Symonds would publish it. They never 
informed me that they afterwards changed their opinion, 
and I never inquired concerning it : first, because my 
heart as well as my mind was fully employed; secondly, 
because I perfectly acquiesced in the fitness of sup- 
pressing it; and, lastly, because I considered it un- 
worthy a further thought. Had I been in town I 
might, perhaps, have reclaimed the MSS. ; but not 
going there till the year 1797, I reckoned it among the 
follies of my youth, and was contented to forget it. My 
youth has no worse follies with which to reproach me. 
I was then a republican and a leveller, and stated such 
principles broadly in the dialogues — the hasty overflow 
of my spirits in two or three mornings. My counsel 
have done me more wrong than my enemies. I feel no 
shame respecting the work, and acknowledge no wick- 
edness in it. I was a boy, who wrote as he felt, and as 
he believed, in his ignorance and inexperience ; and I 
was as ready to dare all danger in promulgating those 
opinions then, as I am in contradicting them now. 

Upon seeing the work announced, I lost no time in 
making oath to the circumstances, and applying for an 
injunction. The delay which has intervened has not 
been my fault ; and my object in so doing was to acknow- 
ledge the work (that I might not seem to be ashamed 
of it), and stop its sale, because I know how mischievous 
it is at this time. Winterbottom, a Dissenting minister, 
has said that I gave the book to him and to D. I. Eaton, 
and gave them a fraternal embrace when they promised 
to publish it. I gave the book to no person, but was 
to have had a share of the profits. The persons who 
engaged to publish it were Ridgeway and Symonds. 
Winterbottom was in the room ; D. I. Eaton I never 
saw in my life ; and as for fraternal embraces, if you 
knew me, my dear sir, you might as soon expect to see 
me dancing a hornpipe on the stage now, as believe 
that at any part of my life I could play the fool in this 



192 

way; so utterly discordant is it to my constitutional 
habits and manners. 

I have addressed two letters to William Smith, which, 
if they are not disapproved by my old friend Charles 
Wynn, will appear in the " Courier." The provocation 
will excuse their warmth, and, indeed, demanded it. 
To proceed further in legal courses would only draw 
upon me fresh expenses; of vexation I shall not speak, 
as regarding myself, for I have felt too many real afflic- 
tions to be hurt by any arrows which malice can direct 
against me. But if it be any satisfaction to Mr. William 
Smith, he may be told that he has made my wife ill. 
It is well for him and for me that I know the wicked- 
ness of duelling. How is it that the spirit of faction 
can have thus possessed him ? Had I ever concealed 
my sentiments, or attempted to conceal them ? Be- 
cause I was a republican, or rather, as I called myself, 
a pantisocrat, at the time " Wat Tyler" was written, 
I had abandoned all my prospects in life for the pur- 
pose of going to the wilds of America. Those same 
opinions are expressed in poems, which I have never 
felt a wish to alter, because I never was ashamed of 
having in such times and such circumstances formed 
vain imaginations of a new system of society, or rather, 
as I then believed, of restoring the system of Chris- 
tian society. I have merely affixed to those pieces the 
date of the year when they were written, and left others 
which accompany them to explain that as the author 
grew older he grew wiser also. So far I have carried 
the feeling that I have not even suppressed a poem upon 
Sunday Morning ; because, erroneous as it is, the feel- 
ing is not such as could make any person of sense re- 
proach the man who could thus feel in his youth. Nor 
would I have sought to suppress " Wat Tyler," had not 
the verses, which I wrote when the mob were ferocious 
in their loyalty, and the spirit of anti-jacobinism was 
reigning in full vigour of intolerance, become most mis- 
chievous now, when the sentiments, long since discarded 
by men of my stamp and class in society, have been 
taken up by the rabble, and are threatening the utter 



193 

overthrow of all our institutions. I heartily condemn 
the piece ; because the principles which it contains are 
misapplied, and put in a mischievous form if addressed 
to a mob prepared for them, which they were not when 
written. They could then have been injurious only to 
myself. My feeling would be very different if the work 
contained any thing irreligious or licentious — there was 
no error from the hea.rt : and when I pray for forgive- 
ness of my sins, the political aberrations of my youth 
have never been reckoned among them. 

Believe me, I feel very sensibly the kindness of your 
letter ; and to show how I feel it, I could find in my 
heart to give you a brief sketch of my pilgrimage in this 
perilous world, and lay open not only the outward cir- 
cumstances, but the inner man. It is my intention, 
whenever I can afford time, to do this at length for 
posthumous publication ; but when the season of leisure 
may arrive, or whether it may ever be allowed me, who 
can tell ? 

If no unforeseen evil should occur to prevent my pur- 
pose, 1 shall arrive in London on Thursday, the 17th 
of" next month. It will give me great pleasure to see 
Lord Calthorpe — and also if I should find Lady Olivia 
in town. 

Believe me, my dear Sir, 
With great respect, 

Yours faithfully and thankfully, 

Robert Southey. 



REV. DR. GASKIN TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ.* 
(Pri. Docketed Church Claims — deserves most serious consideration.) 

Stoke Newington, March 25, 1817. 

My dear Sir, 

I received both your letters on the subject which 
I had ventured to mention to you. Seldom, indeed, 

* Vide Life of Wilberforce. 
VOL. II. 17 



194 

have I been more gratified than by the Christian spirit 
and humble temper which you have exhibited in your 
frank avowal and statement upon it. You evidently re- 
gret the occurrence, for reasons which I consider to be 
very good as far as they go. We are enjoined, as you 
rightly observe, to " provide things honest in the sight 
of all men ;" and we are to be cautious of giving offence 
where offence is likely to be taken. We are, likewise, 
to act, and to appear to act, consistently; and to endea- 
vour that the good we have done, or have attempted to 
do, be not counteracted by our subsequent conduct. On 
such correct views as these, recollecting your professions 
of attachment to the Church of England, and conscious 
of your sincerity in making them, you confess that had 
you " preconsidered the subject fully you would have 
acted differently;" not, indeed, on a conviction that what 
you did was wrong in itself, but on the probability that 
it might be misconstrued, and your example cited as a 
justification of schism. To the spirit of this I cordially 
accede ; and especially as I have much reason to appre- 
hend that your example, in the matter before us, will 
greatly tend to strengthen a principal parishioner of mine 
in his practice of frequenting the church in the morning, 
and that same Dissenting meeting-house in the afternoon, 
against which I have, hitherto in vain, attempted to dis- 
suade him, by calmly pointing out his error. 

But, my dear sir, you will allow me, I know, to say, that 
I think what you did to have been not merely inexpedient, 
and attended with a probability of evil by misconstruction, 
but that it was wrong in itself. You admit that schism 
is an evil in a religious, and even in a political view ; and 
I apprehend that you will accord with me in defining 
schism to be a wilful separation from a rightly consti- 
tuted church requiring no sinful terms of communion. 
The Church of England is not only a rightly constituted, 
but likewise an orthodox Church, and she requires no 
sinful terms of communion. All separation from her, 
therefore, in this country, is unjustifiable schism ; and to 
unite, even occasionally, with such schismatics in public 
prayer, and especially in the peculiar and most charac- 



195 

teristic act of Christian worship, must be singularly un- 
justifiable. There is no duty more strongly enforced in 
the New Testament than that of church unity. " I 
beseech you brethren," saith an Apostle, " by the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
thing, and that there be no divisions among you." We 
are to " walk by the same rule, and to mind the same 
thing ;" we are to " mark them that cause divisions 
and offences, and to avoid them," — not avoid by declin- 
ing the courtesies and good offices of Kfe towards them, 
but we are to refuse all union with them in their " divi- 
sions and offences ;" and it becometh us to follow the 
example of those Christian believers of old, who " con- 
tinued steadfastly in the Apostle's doctrine and fellowship, 
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." We are not 
only to adhere to the doctrine, but also to the fellow- 
ship, or communion of the Apostles; and with them 
we are to participate in the Lord's Supper, and in social 
worship, because they are " the ministers and stewards 
of the mysteries of Christ." That this had not merely 
a reference to the first Apostles, but also to their legi- 
timate successors, is clear ; because the promise of our 
Lord was to be " with them" (and consequently 
their legitimate successors) " even unto the end of 
the world." In addition, therefore, to the fact that our 
Dissenting teachers and their congregations are schis- 
matical, a pause should be made to consider whether 
these teachers have a valid commission to act as ** minis- 
ters and stewards of the mysteries of Christ." The 
Church of England considers that they have not that 
valid commission ; and I believe that they do not them- 
selves profess to have any other commission than what 
their repective congregations have given them, or their 
own fancies have imagined ; and to all this even Quakers 
pretend. For the first fifteen centuries of the Christian 
era the episcopal ministry alone was acknowledged, — 
semper, ah omnibus, etubique ; and when, at the Reform- 
ation on the Continent, a departure from it anywhere 
took place, necessity was pleaded ; and the ministerial 
commission, under such circumstances, it was supposed, 



196 

might be transmitted through the hands of mere, pres- 
byters. 

This was a novelty, which we, blessed be God ! are not 
called upon to defend. Our reformation was not so 
hampered. Whatever were our errors on that occasion, 
we restored the apostolical doctrine, and were privileged 
to perpetuate the apostolical ministry : with whom we 
have continued a fellowship, " in breaking of bread, and 
in prayers." Oh, that our spiritual improvement had kept 
pace with our privileges ! Primitive Presbyterianism 
pretended, at least, to be in possession of the ministerial 
office by transmission ; but whether that pretence exist 
now, I much doubt. Sure I am that it does not exist 
among our independent schismatics. Under all these 
circumstances, I trust it will appear that to unite in 
pubUc social prayer with our Dissenters, and especially 
to communicate with them in the characteristic act of 
Christian worship, is indefensible. The act commonly 
called the Toleration Act, but which calls itself, and 
should be called, the Act of Exemption, did no more than 
remove civil penalties: it necessarily left the spiritual sin 
of schism where it found it. I will only add, that I 
confidently trust you will receive what I have now 
written in the same kind and Christian temper where- 
with you have written to me ; and, assuring you that I 
consider your letter as confidential, and that I will not 
unite in spreading a knowledge of the late occurrence, 
I remain, my dear Sir, 

With much affection and sincere Christian esteem, 
Your obhged humble Servant, 

Geo. Gaskin. 

P. S. I know nothing of Mr. M., the present teacher 
at our Stoke Newington Meeting-house ; nor under what 
class of Dissenters he denominates himself. His prede- 
cessor, I believe, was a sort of Arian. But, even if the 
views of these teachers in the radical articles of the 
Christian faith were as Orthodox as possible, still they are 
unwarrantable schismatics, and they have not the apos- 
tolical commission to exercise the functions of the 



197 

Christian ministry. This parish, during the Great Re- 
bellion, had been a hotbed of regicide and fanatical 
delusion. After turning out the old rector, the cele- 
brated Puritan, Dr. Manton, got possession of the church, 
and occupied the identical parsonage-house in which I 
reside. After the Exempting Act of King William had 
passed, the meeting-house here was erected for the rem- 
nant of the Puritans who continued their separation 
and hostility to the Church ; and it has continued open 
ever since, having some little endowment. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO HENRY BUNCOMBE, ESQ. 

London, May 20, 1817. 

[Mr. Henry Buncombe had been connected with many 
of the Latitudinarian party in Yorkshire, and through 
their influence, as Mr. Wilberforce feared, had been at 
one time in great peril of adopting Socinian tenets ; 
but the books which had been read to him during many 
years of blindness, had opened to him the more cheer- 
ing prospect which Christianity affords. In writing to 
Mr. Wilberforce, after a long interval, he had stated 
the alterations which had taken place in his opinions 
and feelings. " Old Harry," Dr. Burgh had written 
some time before, " has happy prospects before him. 
He has habituated his eye to look beyond our little land- 
scape here. Like an exquisite painter, he has made its 
chief ornament the skies, and thence derived the light 
that gilds the whole. God bless him, and give him both 
here and hereafter the happiness he aspires to !"] 

My dear Friend, 

I really regret that I have not been able sooner 

to reply to your letter of yesterday, — a letter which I 

can truly assure you has given me more pleasure than 

any I ever received from you. The hand-writing of so 

old and so kind a friend, after so long a period had 

elapsed, during which we had not met either personally 

or by letter, must of itself be a highly gratifying cir- 

17* 



198 

i:umstance to any man of common feeling. But the 
pleasure which your letter gives me is of a far higher 
order, as well as far superior in degree. It arises from 
the assurance you give me, that you have been improving 
that peaceful retirement which a gracious Providence 
has afforded you in the evening of life for the best of 
all purposes,— that of preparing for the eternity that is 
to follow, 

" When we have shaken off this mortal coil." 

Blessed be God ! He is willing to receive us at any 
period of life, when we come to him as penitent sinners 
through Christ Jesus ; and He is ready also to give us 
His Holy Spirit, to sanctify our souls, and fit us for that 
heavenly state into which He means to inti'oduce us. 
How strange it is that, though our understandings may 
be convinced that all the concerns of this short and un- 
certain life are as nothing compared with the never- 
ending condition of our future state, yet that our feel- 
ings, our hearts, will not obey this conviction; but we 
— the same persons who can feel as well as reason justly 
where the distant interests of this life are in question^ 
cannot help being more affected by some transitory 
gratification, or some petty object of a worldly kind, 
than by the immense and durable inheritance which 
Christianity offers to our acceptance in the world to 
come. It is the Spirit of God alone, I am convinced, 
that enables us both to know and to feel the superior 
worth of divine things, and thereby prompts us to pur- 
sue them with some corresponding degree of earnest- 
ness. But, my dear old friend, I must quit this de- 
lightful theme, once more congratulating you from the 
heart, and reply to the business of your last letter. I 
am now finishing my answer on the 26th ; and it is 
with extreme difficulty that even to-day I can obtain a 
quiet half-hour. It is now past three o'clock, and from 
before breakfast till just now I have not been alone till 
within the last ten minutes ; for though my resigning my 
seat for Yorkshire has given me in some degree the 



199 

choice of my business, it has not at all lessened it. On 
the contrary, my having been so much longer in public 
life has added proportionably to the number of my assail- 
ants, and fresh ones (both personally and by letter) come 
forward faster than the others disappear : but, blessed 
be God ! there is one day in every v^^eek in which I shut 
out the throng, and am refreshed by rising into a higher 
region, above all the contentious elements of our lower 
world. 

I have been continually interrupted for the last half 
hour, though I thought I should be a little quiet after 
clearing my house of the set that was in possession ; but 
a fresh svi^arm has forced itself in, and all my servants' 
prefectly true declarations, that I am extremely busy, 
will not secure me against intruders. I must hasten to 
a conclusion, or I shall not be able to finish my letter at 
all to day. You will be glad to hear that Mrs. W. and 
my six children are all pretty well, and we overflow 
with blessings ; but Oh, my dear friend ! a family like 
mine brings with it a thousand anxieties. However, 
there remaineth a rest for the people of God ; and I 
humbly hope, through the undeserved mercies of our 
blessed Saviour, to obtain admission into that world 
where pain, and sickness, and sorrow are unknown. 
Were you at hand, I should inquire whether or not I 
ever sent you a copy of my own publication on " Prac- 
tical Christianity." If not, I should like you to hear 
part of it, though I am as well aware as any man of its 
defects. Farewell, my dear friend, and believe me 
jEver yours sincerely and affectionately, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A SON ON HIS BIRTHDAY. 

London, July 21, 1817. 



My very dear 

I broke away from the last lingerers of a crowded 
breakfast party to come to town to one of these appoint- 
ments with Ministers which our different societies have 



200 

occasion to make. This morning it was the Church 
Missionary Society pleading the cause of the Antipodes, 
or nearly so — of the native population of New Zealand ; 
a fine race of men, both in body and natural character, 
who have been treated often with the most savage and 
wanton cruelty by the South Sea Whalers, as the ships 
are termed. It is really gratifying to reflect that we 
are thus contributing to save multitudes of unoffending 
beings from the grossest outrages ; and still more, that 
we are taking measures for preserving from destruction 
several missionaries, and families which may be termed 
semi-missionaries, who would be likely to fall victims to 
the wars and affrays which the outrages of the ships 
might produce ; for a prejudice being conceived against 
the Europeans, the innocent may suffer for or along with 
the guilty. I did not conceive my story would oe so 
long. For I was about to follow it by stating that I had 
been detained till it was time to return to Kensington 
Gore. But as I find it will be too late when I get there 
to despatch a letter to go by this night's post, I am stop- 
ping at a friend's to scribble a few lines to you. I can- 
not possibly suffer this day to pass over without sending 
you the assurances of my most affectionate recollection ; 
and my prayers will be offered up with augmented 
warmth this evening (though the special claim of this 
day was not forgotten this morning), that the Father of 
Mercies will enable us both to welcome this day with 
unalloyed delight and thankfulness. I really can scarcely 
believe you are nineteen ; though, as you came into the 
world in 1798, Cocker will not allow you to be younger. 
But when you attain to my age, if it please God to pro- 
long your life to such a period, which is much beyond 
what the actuaries of the annuity offices would assign 
you, you will be more sensible from experience than it is 
possible for a young man to be, how fast time seems to 
have galloped when we look on any event of fifteen to 
twenty years' previous occurrence. 

When I took up my pen my mind was full of jokes 
about flutes and tailors, excited by your cheerful and 
gratifying letter (it is quite refreshing to me to hear your 



201 

lively chat, though from such a distance), which I read 
as I walked through the park ; but even if I had leisure, 
whereas I am much too late, the idea of your birthday 
has so sobered my spirits, as to force me into a graver 
strain. I must, however, merely breathe the wish, 
which will become a prayer, to the effect of that I have 
already expressed. There is nevertheless one idea which 
I will add, — that of your being now in a situation and 
circumstances eminently favourable to the purpose of 
strengthening your moral character, to speak as a phi- 
losopher, or of growing in grace, to use the far prefer- 
able language of a Christian, prior to the trial on which 
you will enter on settling at college. When our Saviour 
himself had any remarkable service to perform, — and 
good men have imitated His example, — He used to spend 
some preceding time in retirement and devotional exer- 
cises ; and indeed His not commencing his pubhc minis- 
try till he was thirty, was itself an exemplification of my 
principle. I am persuaded, as I believe I before stated 
to you, that hereafter it will appear that you were placed 
in your present circumstances with a view to the con- 
firmation of your religious and moral principles and 

habits. O my dear , let it be your care to prevent 

this gracious intention of Providence from being disap- 
pointed ; in which case, indeed (it is an awful consider- 
ation, but so it is with all our opportunities of improve- 
ment), the enjoyment of your advantages would only 
swell the opposite account. But you would find it, I am 

persuaded, very useful, my dearest , if you were to 

reflect on your situation in the very light I have now 
stated — reflect habitually, 1 mean. This would tend to 
stimulate your efforts, as it may justly encourage your 
hopes. For only think how it would probably have 
animated your endeavours if, on your entering the place 
where you at present are, you had heard a voice from 
heaven declaring to you, that you were placed there for 
the purpose of quaUfying you for the enjoyment of an 
immense increase in the measure of your everlasting 
happiness. I believe it no less than if such an express 
assurance had been made ; because it is no other than 



202 

what is warranted by the positive declarations in Scrip- 
ture of the character and deahngs of our God and 
Saviour. But I must break off most unwillingly : I am 
to take the chair at a Bible association this afternoon, 
and shall not have time to dine and dress for it. I will 
look out some Reviews for you, and I hope to send them 
off to-morrow. 

Do inquire for a land surveyor : there almost always 
is such a man in every neighbourhood : also is there any 
sensible farmer from whom you could learn all about 
agriculture ? 

Farewell; and believe me ever most affectionately 
yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

I also would apologize for my writing, if it would not 
be enough to explain that I have been, and still am, wri- 
ting on my hat ; bent to be an incHned plane 'pro desk, 
and I have bad implements too. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO BIRS. H. MORE. 

Near London, September 1, 1817. 
My dear Friend, 

Don't imagine that because parliament is pro- 
rogued I am almost in want of employment. Neither 
you nor I am likely to be in this situation ; and never 
was it less mine than it is now, or than it has been for 
many weeks past. My foreign correspondence has be- 
come considerable ; but it is all of it important, and 
likely, I hope, to tend to good : I cannot, therefore, wish 
it less. I was going to give you an account of it; but I 
remember that Macaulay's late wanderings began by a 
visit to you, and what he would tell you must have 
enabled you to anticipate that Hayti and its interesting 
population must find me much matter both for mind and 
pen and time. Then I am thankful in being able to say 
that I have some correspondents in the United States. 
I cherish that intercourse, because I perceive but too 



203 

plainly, and I hear from good authority, that both in 
this country and in theirs there are fermenting in the 
minds of the greater number those bad passions, the too 
natural issue of which would be another war whenever 
some unforeseen incident should give occasion for a dif- 
ference between the two governments. It is but little 
that an individual can do by private intercourse towards 
neutraHzing, or, as poor Burke phrased it, dulcifying, 
the sharpening sourness of the public mind in either 
country. But yet it is one of the most important lessons 
which you and I have learned from our long acquain- 
tance with human things, that when we are working in 
the right direction the smallest force may be productive 
of results of immeasurable value. The friendly spirit 
that I show towards the transatlantic children of our 
common forefathers may generate or enkindle a similar 
spirit in some American bosom, — that spirit light up the 
flame in some other ; the kindly warmth may be com- 
municated from breast to breast, and find its way to the 
congress and the council chamber ; and all the mass of 
heat have arisen from a single spark struck out in what 
the world calls an accidental, but you and I a provi- 
dential collision, between a well-disposed Englishman 
and a like-minded American, both of them grieving over 
the hostile spirit so generally diffused in each country 
against the other. Yours, affectionately, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO REV. LEWIS WAY. 

Stansted Park, October 8, 1817. 
My dear Friend, 

I think I can truly say that seldom an hour has 
passed while I have been awake during my residence in 
this house, which w^e shall have inhabited three weeks 
on Friday next, in which the owner of it has not been 
presenting himself to my mind. If it were not improper ; 
and I do not see why a living friend may not rank as 
high or even higher than the imaginary deities of the 
ancients, and have even a better title to the phrase than 



204 

the deified (Un) worthies of the Pagan world, — were it 
not for this, I say, I would quote a beautiful passage 
from the speeeh of one of the patriots concerning the 
constitution, I think, in an earlier period of poor 
Charles's reign, — " The form of the temple remains, 
but the dii tutelares have deserted it." Don't suppose 
that this sentence of Oliver St. John's was whispered in 
my ear by old Noll, whom, till I again inhabited the 
room, I forgot had been so disloyally honoured with the 
prime place in the royal bedroom ; put there, I suppose, 
to remind its royal inmate of the transitory tenure of 
kingly power in this country. But having never been 
here before but when you also w^ere present, and occu- 
pying as I do your library, I cannot get you out of my 
head, or indeed out of my heart, nor in truth do I wish 
it; and therefore, instead of striving to effect the expul- 
sion, I shall cherish the intruder, and assign him a 
permanent mansion in my heart of hearts, as our great 
poet phrases it. 

Happening to be just now extremely pressed for 
time, and having that sad discouragement to a long 
letter, the consciousness that what the icriter may be 
putting on paper to the neglect of urgent and important 
business may not reach the hand of the writee an hour 
sooner than if it should be written a week later, or even 
perhaps may not reach him at all ; — with these dis- 
couragements, I say, I will repress the greater part of 
what I should pour forth to you, if you were now to 
come into the room, and do little more than let you know 
that here we are profiting from your kindness. Indeed, 
I wdll say that a friendly act was never done in a more 
friendly manner, which I own I feel much more than 
the act itself. It is this, indeed, w^hich makes me re- 
ceive your kindness with great and undissembled plea- 
sure; for to any one who knows as much of our com- 
mon nature as you do, I need not remark that though it 
is easy and common to feel that measure of regard for 
a friend which makes us take pleasure in doing him a 
kind service, a much larger measure of regard, nay, 
^ven a higher and nobler quality, as well as an aug- 



205 

merited quantity, is needed for enabling us to receive a 
kindness from him with undefecated satisfaction. But 
as I must not trust myself with a second sheet, I must 
finish my preamble, for my letter is little else, and ex- 
press the pleasure with which I have heard of your 
favourable reception. May it please God (it is not for- 
gotten in our morning and evening devotions) to bless 
you abundantly as the instrument of good to His ancient 
people, and meanwhile may you be growing in your 
own soul in meetness for glory. So wishes, so prays, 
my dear friend, 

Yours sincerely and affectionately, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



M. G. LEWIS, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

London, October 16, 1817. 
Dear Sir, 

When I had the pleasure of seeing you last year, 
I told you my fears of your being in the country on my 
return, and so it proves. I am really disappointed be- 
yond measure, as 1 must sail for Jamaica before the end 
of this month, and should have greatly benefited by some 
previous conversation ; and after my long absence, and 
having just been worried into making a fresh large 
Jamaica purchase, I am confined to London by law 
business, otherwise I should have sought you out in the 
country for at least a few hours. At present, I can only 
express my hope, that if you return to town before my 
departure, you will have the goodness to allow me an 
interview. If your stay should be protracted till Novem- 
ber, allow me to say that if you will give me any West 
India hints, I shall be most grateful for them, and give 
them all that due consideration and respect which, 
(coming from such a quarter) they must deserve; and if 
you will send me in writing any questions which you 
may wish asked, or doubtful points respecting either 
abuses or amendments which you may wish to have 
investigated, you may rest assured that I will spare no 

VOL. II. 18 



206 

pains to get at the truth during my residence in the 
island. 

But here is a point upon which I am most anxious 
to have your opinion ; and as it is of considerable im- 
portance, I am persuaded that (slight as my claim is 
upon your acquaintance) you, as a politician and a 
philanthropist, will excuse the liberty of my laying the 
question before you. 

On the 1st of next May I shall have 600 if not 700 
negroes at my absolute disposal. Now, were you in my 
situation, what would you do with those negroes at your 
decease ? I have no children, — those of my sisters have 
no claim upon me but what I choose to give them. 
While I live, the negroes are so happy and contented 
that I feel quite unwilling to alter any part of their situ- 
ation for fear of mtiking them less so ; and they sent me 
a message to that effect themselves the other day. But 
how can I secure them from being ill-treated when Fam 
dead ? I do not mean by ill treatment, the cruelties of 
slavery, for really that is not any longer to be dreaded 
in Jamaica; but the hardships of it. I proposed a clause 
in my will, making the estate forfeited, if (under certain 
circumstances) the proprietor or his next heir did not 
visit it himself once in five years. My attorney asked 
me "how I could be certain that the proprietor himself 
would not be their greatest tyrant?" and the objection 
was unanswerable. Shall I leave all of them their liberty'? 
Then they must have a provision made for them ; and I 
could allot to them a certain portion of my land, giving 
them also their huts, provision grounds, and working 
implements ; the rest of the land might devolve to my 
heirs; but without negroes to work it, it would be worth 
nothing, or but very little. As to my nephews, the mere 
ties of blood can have no force in a question like this: 
whether ten white individuals shall be able to afford two 
courses at table instead of one, or 600 blacks and their 
descendants be secured against the possibility of future 
ill treatment, is not a question to discuss for two mo- 
ments. But if I set them free, how can I be certain 
that the consequences may not be dangerous to the 



207 

island and to its white inhabitants ? There are so many 
difficulties on both sides, that you will greatly oblige me 
by turning the subject in your mind, and enlightening 
me on a point so important. I have 600 human beings 
absolutely at my disposal; their future welfare is the 
object nearest to my heart : how may I best secure it 
after my death'? Remember that the question relates 
only to "after my decease;" — what I do with them 
during my life requires quite a separate discussion. I 
shall only say now, that I am convinced that it would 
be neither prudent nor kind to set them free at present. 

You mentioned to me somebody's book on the treat- 
ment of negroes, which I did not recollect to have met 
with. May not this be a pamphlet, originally published 
simply as " By a Planter," without any name in the 
title-page? If so, I have the pleasure to say, that having 
met with it by accident, and being greatly struck with 
it, I carried it to Jamaica with me, and left it with my 
attorney, as the guide to whose directions he must adhere 
as implicitly as local circumstances would admit; and 
my estate has since been conducted entirely upon the 
principles of this book. I am also happy to be able to 
tell you that the captain of my merchantman informed 
me the other day that he was on my estate at Christmas; 
and that since my visit there the negroes had conducted 
themselves so well that my attorney was now reconciled 
to my system of management, and scrupulous in allowing 
them all the little indulgences and marks of kindness and 
notice which I had invented to induce them to work 
from motives of goodwill instead of terror and punish- 
ment. The captain particularly instanced the spirit of 
emulation with which the mothers made him notice 
their children, and the pride with which they showed 
him a sash of merit, which I had ordered to be given to 
every woman on her rearing a child to a certain age : 
the births, too, have been more numerous than usual, 
and I understand (for I have not yet received my negro- 
account of last year) that in the whole year only two 
children died, one of whom was born diseased. And 



208 

with all this, my crops have increased instead of fall- 
ing off. 

As a set-off against these facts, reported by an eye- 
witness, and who is also returning with me to the island, 
I must mention, that I find a good-natured set of people 
circulating all over London reports that *' the insur- 
rection of 1816 was produced by my visit to Jamaica, 
and that my system of mistaken lenity had made my 
negroes so unmanageable, that since my quitting the 
island they have been obliged to be punished with ten- 
fold severity." 

I will not apologize for intruding on your leisure on 
a subject which I know you to have so sincerely at heart, 
that probably all details are of interest to you. I will 
only add, that Hatchard of Piccadilly will convey to me 
any answer with which you may be good enough to 
favour me. 

I remain, my dear Sir, 

Yours most sincerely, 

M. G. Lewis. 

I beg you to make my best compliments to Mrs. Wil- 
berforce, if she thinks them worth her acceptance. 



SIR T. STAMFORD RAFFLES TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

On board the Lady Raffles, Spithead, 
October 23, 1817. 

My dear Sir, 

I have delayed writing to you in acknowledg- 
ment of your last kind communication, in the hopes that 
I should have a few minutes to myself; but these hopes 
were never realized, and we are now on board our ship 
under weigh on our voyage to the East. 

On the subject of missions, I can have no hesitation 
in recommending attention to the Eastern Islands. No- 
thing of the kind has yet found its way to Sumatra and 
Borneo, tw^o of the largest Islands in the world, and 
containing a population of many millions. It is said 



209 

that when the people of Celebes embraced Mahometan- 
ism, the Portuguese offered the Bible at the same time. 
A council was appointed by the sovereign to report which 
of the religions was the best. Those of the council in- 
clined to Mahometanism suggested that it was the best, 
because it had arrived first, and God Almighty, they 
said, would never have allowed error to come before 
truth — and the argument, however specious, prevailed. 
Now the Mahometans are making converts daily. No- 
thing is so common among the islands as crusades against 
the infidels — all who do not embrace Mahometanism are 
made slaves — considered as fair booty. May not there- 
fore the spread of the Gospel go hand in hand with the 
Abolition of the slave trade in those countries ? 

I will write to you, my dear sir, very fully and I hope 
satisfactorily on all these points after my arrival, and I 
shall gladly avail myself of your permission to write 
without reserve. 

The boat is putting off, and I must say farewell to 
you and my native land at one time. Accept my grate- 
ful thanks for all your kindness, and believe me always 
to remain, with veneration and affection. 

Most sincerely yours, 

Thos. Raffles. 



ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Keswick, December 10, 1817. 

My dear Sir, 

I have just received a letter from Roster's sister, 
informing me that the consulship at Maranham is 
vacant. 

A very erroneous notion has got abroad that I, who 
live at the foot of Skid daw, who associate more with the 
dead than with the living, and who have set my heart 
and hopes upon the next world — not upon this— am 
very much engaged in political affairs, and possess in 
consequence some political influence. This draws upon 
me a great deal of abuse, to which I am properly in- 

18=^ 



210 

different ; but it induces likewise occasional applications 
from which I would willingly be spared. 

In writing to you upon this occasion, I mean merely 
to say, that if this consulship at Maranham or any other 
similar situation in Brazil at any future time could be 
obtained for Henry Koster, the interests of the British 
merchants and the honour of the British nation would 
be in safe, upright, and conscientious keeping. But I 
am perfectly aware that the claims upon you must be 
numerous, and the applications with which you are 
troubled ten times more so. And I am also aware that 
your parliamentary interest, when you might choose to 
exert it, is probably by no means commensurate with the 
weight which your opinion carries to the public : this 
being, I believe, far greater than that of any other indi- 
vidual. 

I have looked with some anxiety for the letter of Mr. 
Pitt with which you promised to favour me. It is not 
I think from any clinging prejudice that I am unable to 
regard Mr. Pitt as a great Sjtatesman. His conduct of 
the war appears to me to have been miserable, and his 
domestic policy perilously erroneous in some momentous 
points — more especially in the Catholic question. I do, 
however, full justice to his intrepidity, his talents, and 
his EngHsh feeling — in which last and most essential 
quahty for a British minister Mr. Fox was lamentably 
wanting. But I am better qualified to deliver an opinion 
upon Ignatius Loyola or George Fox, than upon either 
of these great leaders. 

Perhaps you may have heard that I am writing (in 
truant hours, and yet wath great dihgence) a life of 
Wesley. It will be upon such a scale as to comprise a 
view of our religious history during the last fourscore 
years. I think it will not be read without interest, and 
I hope not without utility, sooner or later. I remember 
Wesley well : he laid his hands upon me when I was 
about six years old and blest me. It was a chance 
meeting : I was going up the stairs of a lodging house 
at Bath, when he came out of one of the rooms, and 



211 



was struck with my appearance. Farewell, my dear 
sir, and believe me. 

Faithfully and most respectfully yours, 

Robert Southey. 



ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Keswick, January 3, 1818. 

My dear Sir, 

I return Lord Castlereagh's letter. Whatever 
may be the result of the application, both Koster and 
myself are equally indebted to you for this kindness. 

That Mr. Pitt was a disinterested man I never doubted, 
nor that he was a man of great and extraordinary talents ; 
I doubt the extent of his foresight, and the wisdom of 
many of his measures — perhaps there would be little 
difference in our opinions now that we must look back 
upon his administration as a part of past history. There 
is no likelihood of my moving southward during the 
present year. But I should be most glad to receive 
from you any information or hints respecting Wesley. 
I consider him as the most influential mind of the last 
century — the man who will have produced the greatest 
effects, centuries, or perhaps millenniums hence, if the 
present race of men should continue so long. The 
early excesses of Methodism I can account and allow^ 
for ; I admire his tolerant and truly Catholic spirit ; and 
I accord so far with his opinions, as they are expressed 
in his latter years, that where he goes beyond me in his 
belief, I feel a conviction it is because I have not yet 
advanced far enough. For instance, I am as deeply 
and fully persuaded as he was, that the spirits of the 
departed are sometimes permitted to manifest them- 
selves. There is a body of evidence upon this subject, 
which it is impossible for me to disbeheve ; besides, it is 
good that it should be so, and this with me (in such 
matters) is sufficient reason for concluding that it is 
probable — but it is also probable upon the strictest 
reasoning. But I do not believe in witchcraft, and very 



212 

much doubt the reality of demoniacal possession. Even, 
however, if both were admitted, the absurd stories which 
he credits impeach his judgment, and consequently 
weaken the force of his authority when he is right. I 
shall very soon begin upon an essential and interesting 
part of the work — a view of the state of religion in this 
country from the Reformation to his time. Even now, 
after all the Methodists have done, and all they have 
caused the Church to do, there is no part of Christen- 
dom where the state of religion of the populace is so 
utterly neglected. The field is left fallow, and then we 
wonder to find that a more actiA^e spirit has been sowing 
tares ! I am not surprised at the results of these late 
trials : they are a fit and proper sample of the conse- 
quences of Mr. Fox's law of libel. Whether there be 
courage enough to put that law upon its proper footing, 
valde dubito ! 

Believe me, my dear Sir, 

Yours respectfully and truly, 

Robert Southey. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. 

Elmdon House, Tuesday night, 
July 28, 1818. 

My dear Stephen, 

Did I ever mention to you a certain Mr. 



the son of a clergyman in Scotland, who came some 
few years back into this country, and was to be ordained 
after completing his. education ? There is a suspicion, 
whence arising I forget, if I ever heard, but I must say 
confirmed by a certain eccentricity both in his language 
and his written sentiments, and this I believe operated 
against him with some of the bishops who had been 
asked to ordain him. Ever since, this poor man has 
been keeping his head with difficulty above water. He 
is a complete bookworm, so completely such, that he 
spends his whole time in reading and wa'iting, and seems 
to care little what it is he reads. Hence he has not a 



213 

single friend or even acquaintance, those whom he first 
fornned (the Seceding ministers, to whom he had been 
recommended) telHng me when I applied to them to 
assist in raising a collection for him, " Sir, he has left 
us." Now, I might as well have left you to make out 
most of this yourself, and have begged you to see him 
and to judge whether it would not be worth while to let 
him have 20/. (if nothing can be done through other 
people), and be sent to Scotland. He is just of the 
stuff of which ushers in academies are made ; but then 
he has so much of the Scotch cadence, that I really 
think few schoolmasters in this country would take him. 
Yet, poor creature, the man must not starve ; and again 
and again, when I have begun by telling him that he 
ought to support himself by the labour of his hands, 
that charity ought to be allotted to the decrepitude of 
age, or sickness, or the weakness of infancy, it has ended 
in my giving him money. He declares, and I believe 
truly, that he has gone about to all the places he could 
think of, asking for writing employment. Now in Scot- 
land he would be in a place where his dialect and ap- 
pearance would be less against him, and in the neigh- 
bourhood of his birth-place he would not be suffered to 
starve. I ought to have said that a respectable Scotch 
gentleman wrote to me two or three years ago, speaking 
of him as a worthy, well-meaning man. I will enclose 
you his last letter, and do you see him and judge what 
it may be best to do for him — my conscience is uneasy 
about him. I will acquiesce in any measure you 
approve. There is something the farthest in the world 
from the common cant of a beggar in his manner and 
language. He talks with you on the footing of an 
equal, which I own I rather like, though there is a sort 
of coarseness in him. — The most absurd thing I ever 
knew, was M.'s advising him to learn French: you must 
give the man a new set of organs, or he never can pro- 
nounce it — I must break off. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



214 

JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Monday evening*. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

• I return you Mr. R.'s letter : give by all means, 
give freely. I" am only surprised you should have any 
doubts about it. 

What! an erudite candidate for the first chair in 
Edinburgh, an Addison, in distress for a few paltry 
pounds, the only requisite for his rising to eminence as 
well as affluence, and you refuse him a supply ! But so 
it is with you narrow-minded people. There is Mrs. W. 
now, with her ten brats, and her widow's weeds, and her 
religious enthusiasm, will move you more than all the 
efforts of a stout fellow, who, in spite of your former 
largesses, may have to lay down the pen, to the irre- 
parable loss of science, (proh pudor !) and take up the 
fiail or the mattock. What would posterity say to this 
if it had a tongue ? But what care you for posterity ? 
You say, I suppose, like the Irishman, posterity has 
done nothing for me ; and why should I do any thing 
for it? 

I however, will wash my hands of any participation in 
these mean-spirited maxims. I wrote to Mrs. W. to-day 
of your pecuniary offer. I will write to-morrow to re- 
tract it for you ; for certainly all you can spare for 
Scotland ought to be reserved for this great and modern 
philosopher, Mr. R. 

Yours very affectionately, 

J. S. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO H. R. H. THE DUKE OF 
CAMBRIDGE. 

Elmdon House, near Birmingham, July 29, 1818. 

Sir, 

I should begin my letter by apologizing to your 
Royal Highness for the freedom of this address, were it 
not for this consideration, that unless the motives by 



215 

which I am prompted shall plead my excuse, it would 
be in vain for me to offer any other. 

Happening, a few weeks ago, to have a tete-^-tete with 
a very intelligent gentleman, who had been for some 
time resident in the University of Gottingen, our con- 
versation naturally turned upon the present state of that 
celebrated seat of learning : more especially I inquired 
concerning the prevailing opinions on the most important 
of all subjects, rehgion ; and I learned with extreme 
concern, that a system of unqualified scepticism was 
maintained and diffused by one at least, if not by more, 
of the ablest and most accredited professors of the Uni- 
versity ; and that thereby, as formerly in Edinburgh, 
scepticism was become but too naturally the fashionable 
system among the young students. Unhappily, this 
conversation took place during the busiest part of the 
last session of parliament ; and before I had another op- 
portunity of conferring with the gentleman from whom 
I received the intelligence, he had left the kingdom. 
Had I been at all aware that I should see him no more 
I should have availed myself of the opportunity for ob- 
taining more precise and complete information. But 
general and incomplete as my intelligence is, I conceived, 
after much serious reflection, that I should not be ac- 
quitted of the duty I owe both to God and man, if I 
were not to use my best endeavours for arresting the 
progress of an evil, the fatal effects of which, if ever 
doubtful, cannot I think be questioned by any well in- 
formed man, who has traced the causes, and witnessed 
the effects of the French revolution. 

It cannot be requisite for me to assure your Royal 
Highness that no man is less incKned than myself to 
interfere with the rights of private judgment ; but when 
what professes itself to be a Christian seminary of edu- 
cation not only ceases to teach the wholesome truths of 
Christianity, but actually inculcates the lessons of scep- 
ticism, and when, therefore, the youth who have been 
sent by their parents to imbibe the principles of Christian 
truth, return to them after having drank deep of the 
noxious and bitter waters of infidelity, surely it becomes 
the duty of those whom Providence has invested with the 



216 

requisite power, and thereby charged with a correspond- 
ing responsibility, to check an evil, the extent of which 
exceeds all human powers of calculation. At least, in 
common honesty, let mankind be no longer beguiled by 
false professions. Let the rising generation be no longer 
corrupted by infidel opinions, in the very seminary in 
which it might have been expected that they would be 
instructed in the doctrines and precepts of the Christian 
faith. 

I need say no more. I cannot doubt from your Royal 
Highness's known character, and from the peculiar in- 
terest which you must naturally take, not merely in the 
credit, but in the real effects on mankind of that cele- 
brated University, of which, from your residence in 
Hanover, your Royal Highness appears designed by 
Providence to be the superintendent and the guardian, 
that your Royal Highness will consider this subject with 
the seriousness which it so justly claims : and that though 
perhaps quietly, (which the nature of the case may pro- 
bably render most expedient.) yet seriously, you will set 
yourself to ascertain the real amount of the evil, and to 
adopt some effectual remedy ; a remedy, the effects of 
which shall not stop at merely preventing the diffusion 
of falsehood, but which shall provide for the inculcation 
of truth. Your Royal Highness's benevolence no less 
than your religion will here operate ; for to your Royal 
Highness I am persuaded I need not remark, that if 
even the future interests of man were out of the question, 
every humane mind would be zealous for the establish- 
ment of Christianity, as at once the most compendious 
and most effectual method that ever was devised, for 
promoting the temporal improvement, and securing the 
social and domestic happiness of our fellow-creatures. 

I will only express my humble hopes, that your Royal 
Highness will receive with indulgence a representation, 
which in truth I should scarcely have made, but for the 
personal esteem and attachment with which I have the 
honour to be^ with great respect, 

Sir, your Royal Highness's 

Most obedient and faithful servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



217 
ALEXANDER KNOX, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bellevue, Bray, August 31, 1818. 

My dear Sir, 

Though I have almost forfeited my right of 
troubHng you with a letter, I trust you will not be un- 
willing to hear from me. Again and again I have 
thought of writing ; particularly, after receiving a kind 
mark of your remembrance in the cover of a letter from 
Mr. Jebb, when he was last in England. I assure you, 
I felt all the goodness to me which those few words 
expressed; and indifferent health, together with some 
special occupations alone, prevented my giving imme- 
diate vent to the grateful feehngs which your kindness 
excited. 

I am now induced to write to you by certain thoughts, 
"which the reading of a very strange pamphlet has oc- 
casioned. It may or may not have fallen into your 
hands. If it has not, its singularity may be a reason 
why you should look into it. It is written by a London 
clergyman, " Vicar of St. Bartholomew the Less," and 
contains an express and earnest proposal that the Church 
of England should re-unite with the Church of Rome. 
He thinks if such an overture were made, it would be 
possible, by means of a council, to settle terms of eccle- 
siastical coalition ; and he conceives this measure to be 
the only remedy for the religious dissonance now^ pre- 
vailing in England. He says, that through " the forget- 
fulness of all that constitutes a visible Church of Christ 
in constitution and discipline," there is in England, " the 
unhappy anomaly of an episcopal establishment and a 
sectarian population," and he thinks the growing weak- 
ness of the English Church can find adequate support 
only in an alliance with that great body, whose discipline, 
he imagines, is still entire, and therefore capable of sus- 
taining unity of belief and practice. 

A proposition of this nature, considered in itself, 
would not be worth a moment's attention. Like count- 
less other foolish speculations, it would be sure speedily 
to vanish into thin air. But, as many well-intentioned 

VOL. II. 19 



218 

persons feel similar apprehensions respecting the Church 
of Eno^land ; and, not less than this writer, lament the 
growth of sectarianism, there is a possibihty that they 
who express these feehngs, and who complain that the 
active friends of religion are not sufficiently alive to the 
increasing danger, may be suspected to have at bottom, 
some such leaning as he professes. Thus, deeper jeal- 
ousy than even yet actuates would be excited, and co- 
operation against common enemies set at greater distance 
than ever. 

But to come nearer to my special point: when I 
recollect what I have said to you, or what you may 
have happened to know of my sentiments, respecting 
the Roman Catholic question, and when I consider how 
possible it is, that through mere want of caution I may 
have so pleaded their political cause, as to expose myself 
to the suspicion of being over-indulgent to their religion, 
especially, as I have never appeared among the friends 
of Bible or Missionary Societies ; on these accounts, I 
have not wholly been without fear, that if you happened 
to think of me, while looking over this pamphlet, it 
might by possibility appear to you not unlikely that my 
opinions were in some sort of agreement with its senti- 
ments, and that, were 1 also to speak my whole mind, I too 
might be found at least not adverse to his extraordinary 
speculation. 

Will you forgive me for supposing the possibility of my 
occupying such a place in your mind, as the occurrence 
of what I am imagining would imply ? If I am safe 
from such a suspicion, in consequence of me and my 
ways of thinking being comparatively forgotten by you, 
I cannot but desire to re-excite your recollection, by 
bringing myself before you. If I still live in your 
memory, and you think better of me than to class me 
with such persons, you will, notwithstanding, receive 
with your accustomed kindness the few thoughts which 
I am led to communicate on this, certainly, not wholly 
uninteresting subject. 

I certainly, perhaps not less than this writer himself, 
apprehend the Church of England to be in imminent 



219 

danger; and while I am satisfied that the anti-evangelical 
party, by way of defending the Church, are doing every 
thing possible to increase its hazards and almost to 
insure its downfall, I am obliged to think, that the 
measures pursued by those who are called evangelical, 
however upright in intention, and even fitted to mul- 
tiply instances of individual piety, are not exactly such 
as are calculated to avert the impending evil. I make 
this remark, not for the purpose of obtruding my pri- 
vate opinion, but in* order to express with greater satis- 
faction to myself, what is, if possible, still more deeply 
my conviction, that the Church of England might as 
well be annihilated at once as re-united to the Church 
of Rome, and that of all possible projects which could 
be devised by the wayward will of man, that of such a 
re-union is the wildest and most pernicious. 

You never would have agreed with me as far as you 
have done, respecting the Romanr Catholic question, if 
you had not felt that to befriend Roman Catholic en- 
franchisement was not by any just consequence to coun- 
tenance their religion. I dare say you have not been 
less persuaded than myself, that poUtically to excom- 
municate the Roman Catholics is to condense and brace 
them as a separate religious body, and what has long 
impressed me, will, therefore, to you also probably ap- 
pear not unreasonable; that if Providence means, for 
mysterious reasons, still to keep up the Roman Cathohc 
interest in Ireland, the present disqualifying statutes 
will remain yet longer in force ; whereas, if its disso- 
lution or reformation be a near purpose of overruling 
wisdom, the Roman CathoKcs will, doubtless, be brought 
within those liberalizing influences which full enfran- 
chisement would imply, and which, in the nature of 
things, they could no more resist, for any length of time, 
than the ice of winter can resist the increasing warmth 
of spring. In fact, it has seemed to me, that their reli- 
gion in this country was so much more kept together, 
by our compression than by its own cohesion ; that if 
only we had courage to make the experiment, we 
should shortly find that it had owed its chief strength to 



220 

our fears, not to its own firmness. I particularly think 
that those who should obtain seats in either House must 
become more and more like others of the same rank ; 
and though the first possessors of these distinctions 
might professedly retain their original habits, they could 
not, however they might wish it, entail their prejudices 
on their children. New habits both of mind and 
manners would be formed by new circumstances ; and 
to a moral certainty, if not the son, the grandson of 
every Roman Catholic member of either House would 
be a Protestant. Let me add one more conjecture: 
when several such cases should occur, it would be im- 
possible that the Roman Catholic clergy should not be- 
come alarmed ; and to retain their flock, they would, in 
all probability, think of the sole expedient within their 
power, the recommending of their system by some little 
infusion of rationality, as, for instance, exchanging the 
Latin for English service, and giving the sacrament of 
the Eucharist in both kinds. But were alteration thus 
far admitted, it would go on; concession would increase 
instead of satisfying demands, and an actual reformation 
of the Irish Roman Catholic Church, leading at length 
to a coalition with our reformed Episcopal Church, would 
be the issue. 

Whether or no, therefore, your speculations look as 
far forward as mine, I should be pretty sure that my 
poHtical views alone would not expose me in your 
judgment to the being classed with the writer of this 
pamphlet. But should you have happened to read the 
appendix to Mr. Jebb's sermons (which in a prefixed 
advertisement is stated, both as to '* authorities and 
arguments," to have been the work jointly of himself 
and of a friend), and to recollect the use made of Vin- 
centius Lirinensis, a writer of the fifth century, it might 
strike you, on looking into this gentleman's pamphlet, as 
rather extraordinary, not only that he places this same 
writer in the very front of his authorities, but actually 
appears to ground himself on the identical passage 
which is especially referred to in the appendix. I con- 
fess I should not wonder that this circumstance, if 



221 

adverted to and not examined beyond the first impres- 
sion, should excite a suspicion that the appendix and the 
pamphlet breathed the same spirit, and were directed, 
with whatever difference of manner, to the same object. 

But if chance should have led you, my dear sir, to 
notice this apparent coincidence of quotation, I would 
wish you to be apprised of the fact, that in the judgment 
of Mr. Jebb and myself there is not any firmer ground 
on which to attack the very citadel of the Roman Ca- 
thoHc system, than that which is afforded by this same 
passage of Vincentius as adduced by us, but of which 
the author of the pamphlet, whether through design or 
inadvertence, has only transcribed as much as appeared 
to him suited to his special purpose. 

It is, indeed, the object of Vincentius to persuade his 
readers that the depth and extent of Holy Scripture are 
such, as to place it, in many instances, beyond the reach 
of private interpretation; and that, in order safely to 
explain what appears dark or disputable in the Divine 
Word, we must consult the concurrent judgment of the 
Catholic church ; or, as he himself expresses it, " quod 
uhique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum esV^ 
This maxim of Vincentius, in its first general statement, 
the writer of the pamphlet has thought fit to adduce as 
if it supported his project. But Vincentius goes on to 
decide (and Mr. Jebb and I have dwelt at least as much 
on this latter part as on the first general principle), that 
if the body of the existing church should at any time 
appear to deviate from its original purity of doctrine, 
then and in that case it would be not the right only, but, 
as far as capacity went, the duty of each individual 
Christian, not to follow a multitude to do evil, but in de- 
fiance of prevalent example to regulate his own belief 
by the guidance of uncorrupted antiquity. 

I believe you will see at once that this sequel of Vin- 
centius's doctrine (which he has thought proper to omit) 
is as much as possible the very antipode of popery — or 
rather, a solvent principle before which the entire system 
would instantly come to nothing. The papal palladium 
is implicit subjugation of Ae individual to the existing 

19* 



222 

rulers of the church. The private Christian, according 
to the popish belief, has no right to inquire for himself. 
He is deemed a virtual heretic if he makes any such 
attempt. He must receive whatever his clerical guides 
propound without appeal or hesitation. Consequently 
the Roman Catholic who should follow the advice of 
Vincentius in searching for ancient truth and adhering 
to it, against the dictates of modern church-despotism, 
would forthwith incur the anathema of his superiors, 
and be considered as a deserter from the ranks of the 
faithful. 

This remark is too obvious to need confirmation ; but 
it would be confirmed were it needful by the well known 
fact that Bp. Ridley, in the dispute at Oxford, supports 
his conduct as a reformer by this identical passage : — 
" I use," said he, " the wise council of Vincentius Liri- 
nensis, whom I am sure you will allow : who, giving 
precepts how the Catholic church may be in all schisms 
and heresies known, writeth in this manner : * When,' 
saith he, ' one part is corrupted with heresies, then prefer 
the whole world before that part ; but if the greatest part 
be infected, then prefer antiquity.' " 

Had this writer, therefore, examined more closely the 
author on whom he places reliance — had he even read 
to the end the passage which he quotes, if his mind be 
capable of conviction, he would have been disabused ; 
at least, if he be a man of conscience, he would not have 
adduced Vincentius Lirinensis as favouring a measure 
against which he has pronounced the plainest and most 
decisive protest that could have been expressed in human 
language. 

In fact, the case is too clear to leave room for argu- 
ment. A Roman Catholic is, ipso facto, incapable of 
performing what Vincentius regards as the essential duty 
of every intelligent Christian. Whoever, therefore, be- 
comes a Roman CathoHc, once for all precludes himself 
from what Vincentius enjoins as the only resource against 
widely infectious error ; or if, being within the pale of 
that church, he notwithstanding resolves to act as Vin- 
centius has directed, he violates the vital principle of 



223 

his religion, and is consequently a Roman Catholic no 
longer. 

1 believe I have said enough to show that in this ap- 
parent sameness of quotation there is the utmost differ- 
ence both of manner and intention ; and that whether 
Vincentius's leading principle be in itself true or false, 
neither he nor the authors of the appendix can be justly 
involved in the censures to which the writer of the pam- 
phlet has made himself liable. Truth, however, obliges 
me to remark that all the matter contained in the pam- 
phlet is not, in my judgment, alike exceptionable. In 
several instances the quotations strike me as interesting 
and important. I speak, however, exclusively of those 
which relate to the doctrine of the Eucharist, and to the 
leading tenet of Vincentius — the use of unbroken Ca- 
thoHc tradition in interpreting the obscurities of the 
written word. On these two subjects there are passages 
quoted from the Church of England authors, which I 
conceive applicable to infinitely safer and wiser purposes 
than that which they are so strangely and inconsequently 
brought to support. 

It is, I confess, my settled persuasion, that the piety 
of the English Church has been deeply chilled by the 
prevalence of those low notions respecting the Sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper, which were first made 
popular by the well known work of Bishop Hoadley. 
I sincerely wish, therefore, this important subject were 
more closely and dispassionately investigated than it has 
yet been. The issue, I conceive, would be a view of 
that sacred ordinance, alike removed from the frigidness 
of ZuingUanism and the monstrous absurdity of a literal 
transubstantiation. It seems to have been the pious pur- 
pose of those who revised the Communion Service in 
1662 to lead the mind to this idea: I mean to inspire, 
substantially, the sentiment which Bishop Ridley ex- 
pressed in his reply to Dr. Seton's question, " Where is 
then the miracle, if Christ be present through grace and 
efficacy only ?" " Yes," answered Ridley : " there is a 
miracle, good sir. Christ is not idle in His sacraments. 
Is not the miracle great, trow you, when bread, which 



224 

is wont to sustain the body, becometh food to the soul 1 
He that understandeth not that miracle, he understandeth 
not the force of that mystery." This intention of the 
revisers, though, doubtless, not without effect on the 
feelings of communicants, will be distinctly understood 
only by comparing the altered form with the service as 
it stood before 1662; and particularly by observing the 
several rubrics which were then inserted. On such a 
comparison, I conceive, it will be obvious, that the idea 
meant to be conveyed exactly agrees with what Bishop 
Horseley has expressed in one of his charges — that the 
Eucharist is not merely " a rite of simple commemora- 
tion," but that "the matter of the Sacrament is by 
Christ's appointment, and the operation of the Holy 
Ghost, the vehicle of Grace to the behever's soul." For 
my part I receive this view, because I cannot otherwise 
interpret St. Paul's deep expressions in the xth and xith 
of 1 Corinthians ; and I cannot help thinking that low 
ideas on this point are a cause why books written on the 
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper are seldom, if ever, 
either satisfactory to the understanding or impressive on 
the heart. 

I am aware that what my friend Jebb and I have said 
respecting the use of Catholic tradition in interpreting 
Scripture has been received with great jealousy. But 
surely, on this head, there can be no danger in admitting 
what has been admitted by Chillingworth and Tillotson. 
The judgment of these two celebrated divines, on Ca- 
tholic tradition, will be found in the 77th page of the 
pamphlet. As far as I understand, Tillotson's words, as 
there given, convey the precise opinion of Mr. Jebb and 
myself; and we do not go the length of Chillingworth. 
Universal tradition, according to Chillingworth, when 
clearly authenticated, is to be followed in every thing " fun- 
damental, or not fundamental;" whereas, in our judgment, 
it is to have force respecting fundamentals only ; subordi- 
nate matters, as we conceive, being not only alterable, but 
from change of times and circumstances, often requiring 
alteration. It is remarkable that Vincentius makes this 
very distinction : " The ancient consent of the holy fathers," 



225 

says he, "is to be investigated and followed by us with ear- 
nest application of mind ; not, however, in all the minuter 
questions of the divine law, but only or at least chiefly 
respecting the rule of faith." Here again, I cannot but 
observe, Vincentius calls individual Christians to a dis- 
criminative exercise of mind, and by inevitable conse- 
quence ascribes to them a right of inquiry as opposite to 
Roman Catholic principles as light is to darkness. 

In troubling you with these remarks, I am far from 
hoping to recommend the view of my friend and myself 
to your acceptance. I merely wish, by pointing out the 
contrariety between the system of the pamphlet and ours, 
to avert the possibility of our being involved in any 
cloud of suspicion which may be excited by its frantic 
suggestion. At the same time it is but candid to own, 
that the more we consider the subject, the more solid, to 
our mind, appears the ground on which we have taken 
our stand. Against Roman Catholics in particular we 
conceive it to be impregnable. It was the ground on 
which Ridley combated his opponents, and v^hich all 
their subtilty could not induce him to relinquish. We 
can here turn against our enemies those very weapons 
of which they make their proudest boast. We can here 
demonstrate, upon our side, the reality of that certainty 
and continuity, by the semblance of which they have 
been so long entrapping the unlearned and the unstable. 

We cannot but persuade ourselves that the growing 
dissonancies in religion, (which, in point of fact, are 
undeniable,) and the increasing cries of " Lo, Christ is 
here," and " Lo, Christ is there," will at length dispose 
the truly upright of heart to pant after some more settled 
order of things than recent times have exemplified. The 
jar of words and the conflicts of parties will evince the 
necessity of some certain rallying point where an effec- 
tual stand may be made against the presumption of 
novices, and the wiles of the deceitful. If such a post 
of safety be not discoverable, how are the contests of the 
religious world to terminate? My friend and I think 
that it is to be found in the written word of God, not as 
interpreted for himself by each ignorant or self-conceited 



226 

individual, but as illustrated by the converging rays of 
those who have been successively lights in their genera- 
tions. " The opinions," says Vincentius, " are to be 
collected of those fathers alone, who with holiness, wis- 
dom, and constancy, living, teaching, and persevering in 
the Catholic faith and communion, have enjoyed the 
privilege of dying in Christ faithfully, or of dying for 
Christ happily." 

It seems to us that to trace out this concurrence is, in 
reality, to recur to God's work, for elucidation of His 
word. Such persons as Vincentius describes were what 
they were through the operation of the Divine Spirit ; 
the virtues in which they excelled were the fruit of that 
Spirit: and the concordant principles by which that 
fruit was nourished and matured could be no other than 
rills and rivulets of that river which proceedeth from the 
throne of God and of the Lamb. What then is the un- 
broken agreement of results and principles, in this most 
interesting retrospect, but, in a sober sense, the witness 
of the Divine Spirit to His own truth ? If, therefore, it 
has in any instance pleased that blessed Spirit to speak 
obscurely, can we do more wisely than to examine how 
the same adorable agent has wrought, in order that the 
principles of heavenly chemistry delivered in the written 
word may be explained, by the practice of the all wise 
Artist in the laboratory of his Church ? Thus, we con- 
ceive unity of sentiment, on the very matters which now 
divide Christians, to be rationally and luminously attain- 
able — and it is our persuasion that it will be attained — 
for our Saviour's prayer cannot always remain unan- 
swered : sooner or later Christians will be one, that the 
world may believe ; and perfected in one, that the world 
may know. 

Then I think it will be, that the apocalyptic call 
will be especially addressed to those now held captive 
in the mystical Babylon — " Come out of her, my people, 
that ye be not partakers of her plagues." And when, 
through that call, every living particle, in which the 
spiritual breath of God is, has been extracted from the 
now mixed concrete of the Roman CathoHc Church, it 



227 

is my belief that the incorrigible residuum will be the 
victim of those maledictions prefigured by the seven 
vials, none of which, I conceive, according to the tenour 
of the apocalyptic prophecy, shall be poured out, until 
the season of vengeance has fully come. Adieu, my 
dear sir. I determined not to exceed two sheets. I am 
now, therefore, forced to set you free, and I entreat you 
to believe me, 

Always faithfully, affectionately, and gratefully 

Yours, 

Alex. Knox. 



, WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO H. BANKES, ESQ. 

Rydal, near Ambleside, September 8, 1818. 

My dear Bankes, 

It is true here I am ! but owing to unavoidable 
detentions, we are only very recently arrived : and 
though the climate of this country is, in the valleys, 
milder, I am persuaded, than in most parts of England, 
yet the delight I feel in viewing my old haunts is not un- 
mixed with regret for the bright and warm sunshine 
which I am assured was enjoyed in this lake country 
not less than in most other parts, though it is difficult to 
believe it, for never was the verdure more exquisite than 
it is at this moment. But in the very short time we 
already have been here, we have had several wet days ; 
yet it is so dry immediately after rain, and the water- 
falls become so much finer, that perhaps we gain more 
than we lose by the showers. I have begun to have 
Madame de Stael read to me, and with all the disadvan- 
tages of a translation, and I suspect a very indifferent 
one, and of not reading it with my own eyes, I must say 
I am extremely struck with it ; I had no idea that she 
possessed so much sound political judgment, combined 
with a considerable shrewdness in discernment of the 
characteristic traits of human nature in different classes 
and individuals. How clever are her remarks on the 
courtier minister, and how skillfuly she slides over the 



228 

weaker parts of her father's character. How mucK 
better and more true are her principles than those of our 
modern factious reformers. 

And now I must notice your domestic ecclesiastical 
occurrence* — I am sure I should be void of all feeling, 
if I could be uninterested in what so nearly concerns 
you, who have never failed to take an interest wherever 
my feelings were in question, and who, through all the 
changes of public life, have always treated me with the 
cordiality of true friendship. But you have touched a 
string, which often, I assure you, vibrates inwardly in 
my heart, though I believe too seldom I let the sound 
escape to outward observation. To speak without a 
figure, both in relation to you and yours, more especially 
to my godson, I have not seldom had many a serious 
rumination, and I have quarrelled with myself for not 
opening my mind to you enough, on the most interesting 
of all subjects. I have not eyesight to allow me to put 
on paper what I might otherwise wish to say on this 
head. But a few words I will state, and I will give 
you a microscopic view of a work which I have long 
been intending to write. I am not sure that I did not 
once name it to you, for it is a design, though unexe- 
cuted and even uncommenced, of many years standing. 
The main purpose would be to enforce the duty of a 
diligent and attentive perusal of the writings of St. 
Paul. Though all the New Testament, claiming the 
same title to be received as of divine authority, should 
doubtless be studied seriously, yet every fair reasoner 
must admit, and on the very ground of deference to 
divine authority, that the writings of St. Paul have a 
peculiarly strong claim to our most serious perusal — 
because he was expressly commissioned to be the apostle 
and instructor of us Gentiles, and this when he himself 
wished rather to go to teach his countrymen the Jews. 
Our Saviour Himself, in His last discourse with his dis- 
ciples, stated, that there were truths which had been 
hitherto withheld from them, but in which they would 

* Mr. Bankes's youngest son had just received holy orders. 



229 

be instructed, after the descent of the Holy Ghost, the 
Spkit of Truth as he is called, when they should be 
guided into all truth. One great distinction was spe- 
cified by our Saviour Himself, when He states that in 
future all their prayers should be offered up through 
His mediation, which He remarked had never been the 
case before. And it is intimated that the instruction 
should be in those particluars which respected our 
Saviour himself — I am not here alluding to mysterious, 
still less to speculative matters, but to what is practical 
and plain as connected with practice, though high and 
inscrutable in its nature and relations. 

I am persuaded, that from the neglect of St. Paul's 
writings has proceeded, in a great degree, an erroneous 
view of the spirit and genius of Christianity, which has 
the most important practical effects ; especially in what 
concerns the formation of those dispositions of heart 
which are to qualify us for that future state of existence 
into which we are to pass hereafter. Of one thing I am 
sure, that any solicitude I feel for you is not of an un- 
charitable kind, as such anxiety is sometimes charged 
with being ; but it is of a friendly character and nature, 
proceeding from the interest I take in your well-being. 
It was one of our great men, I forget which, our great 
litterati I mean of two centuries ago, who said, if he had 
another year to live, he would employ it in two things — 
one of them being the perusal of St. Paul's Epistles, 
the other I have forgotten. I wish you would engage in 
the same occupation. But then it must be a serious 
and a scholar-like perusal, accompanied, I should say, 
with fairness, on the authority of the Scripture itself, 
with prayers for the divine illumination, not to reveal 
new truths, but to impress those which the word of God 
contains, more especially also endeavouring to let Scrip- 
ture be its own interpreter, by comparing one part with 
another, and observing that it will often happen, that 
where there are some unconquerable difficulties, there 
may be other proofs sufficiently clear for practice. 

Farewell my dear Bankes. How little did I suppose 
I should be drawn into so long a letter. But I too 
VOL. II. 20 



230 

seldom write to you, as I too seldom see you, not from 
want of disposition, but of ability. 

With kind remembrance and every good wish, 
I am ever your affectionate friend, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO H. BANKES, ESQ. 

Rydal, near Kendal, September 23, 1818. 

My dear Bankes, 

By all means read Paley's Horse Paulinse. Of 
all his ingenious, and interesting, and able works, it is 
certainly the most ingenious, and though the idea of its 
principle be not quite original (for it was brought for- 
ward by Dr. Doddridge in his Exposition in a degree 
quite sufficient to suggest to Paley's acute intellect the 
use that might be made of it), yet it is so extended and 
applied by Paley, as to entitle him to as great a degree 
of praise, even for invention, as most of our great in- 
ventors can fairly claim. For whether in Jenner's case, 
or any others, you always find on inquiry, that there 
was some one or other, who had done the same thing, 
or something very Hke it. Paley's work delivers several 
of St. Paul's Epistles and the book called the Acts of the 
Apostles into your hands as the works of a divinely com- 
missioned teacher; for, as I remember, Butler argues, 
if you admit the authenticity of several of the Epistles, 
that for instance of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 
the supernatural powers of the Apostle Paul, and of the 
Christians to whom he wrote, follows of course. As to 
the question — What commentator ? I am clear myself 
that Doddridge is the best. There is in him the least 
of that disposition, so common in commentators, but so 
censurable, to strain passages unfairly for the support of 
their own sj^stem. As for the order of reading the 
Epistles of St. Paul, I see no better than that in which 
they stand, unless perhaps that it might be well to read 
the Epistle to the Hebrews, which is supposed to be his, 
if not the first, yet pretty early. But I must add, (though 



231 

honestly to confess it to you as an old friend, I had 
rather have kept it to myself,) in what way soever you 
begin the Epistles, prayer for the divine blessing on the 
perusal should precede the reading of them. 

I will make one more remark. That it is much to be 

regretted, as I remember telhng our poor old friend , 

when we were tete-d-tete in a chaise in one of the beau- 
tiful valleys I was showing him when he visited me at 
the house I had near Windermere, that people will be 
always bringing forward and disputing about the high 
and mysterious doctrines of religion, and hence per- 
sons see Christianity or rather the Christian Scriptures 
through their medium. This was just his case ; and I 
well remember when he said to me, " How can I be- 
lieve that the Maker of all creation became a little 
infant ?" I replied to him, " No more could I if I did 
as you do, that is, view the arguments for Christianity 
as embodied in the arguments for that proposition. But 
act rationally, examine and weigh the arguments and 
evidences on which the truths of Christianity and of the 
Holy Scriptures rest, and then estimate, after satisfying 
yourself that the infancy of Christ the Son of God is in 
the Holy Scriptures, whether all the above arguments 
and evidence are to be set aside and overbalanced, by 
the improbability of this single position." My dear 
Bankes, I ought not perhaps to have written so hastily 
on this important subject ; but feeling for you the regard 
I do, and grateful as I am for our long and uniform 
friendship, 1 cannot but feel very desirous that you 
should in earnest give your understanding and your 
heart (for both must be surrendered) to the serious in- 
vestigation of these important truths, and follow and 
obey practically the course they would prescribe to you. 
May the divine blessing accompany your studies, and 
still more, the more difficult practical task that remains 
behind in the bringing, as the Apostle expresses it, into 
the obedience of Christ the heart and the tempers, the 
dispositions, the thoughts, words, and actions. 

My eyes have been for some time complaining in their 
way, and I must release them. This country never was 



232 

more beautiful : there has not been any want of rain, 
thou^^h the summer was here, as Southey says, " a good 
old-fashioned EngHsh summer, such as we had when I 
used to pick grapes out of my grandmother's bedroom 
window." Farewell, with kind remembrances, 

Ever yours sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Kensington Gore, Wednesday evening, 
November, 1818. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have to ask your pardon for not forwarding 
this cover to-day. I meant to have written to you re- 
specting that sad, sad event* in Russell Square; but 
the morning papers have detailed all I could have told. 
I have not recovered my spirits from the shock. What 
a disheartening blow to our poor cause ! There could 
not have been a greater loss, except in yourself. My 
feelings have been the more painful, because, perhaps, 
had I not postponed a purpose that I formed on hearing 
of Lady Romilly's death, I might have saved him. 
I had not heard of, but could well estimate his suffer- 
ings. I meant therefore to write to him, giving him an 
account of my own severer trials (that of 1796 he would 
have allowed to be so), and using all the topics I could 
to comfort him, if not on the true principles, on such as 
were not wrong, and he was likely to feel ; especially 
animating him with the prospect of doing much for the 
poor negroes, and urging him to take care of himself 
for their sakes. Who knows what this, and the warm 
expression of sympathy from an unexpected quarter, 
might have effected? It might have turned the scale 
for life ; but I waited for time to do the thing well, not 
knowing that he had returned to town till I heard of 
the sad catastrophe. Alas, alas ! what a world is this ! 
or rather what would it be without the hope of heaven ! 

* Th e death of Sir Samuel Romilly. 



233 

Poor Romilly, the description of his state strikes me 
with forcible and strange recollections. In 1796 I really 
believe my case was almost identically the same. I have 
often said, and am strongly impressed with the belief, 
that I did not sleep for a week; and strange things 
passed through my mind which I recollect at times with 
a doubt whether it was in a state of sanity. Yet friends 
for the most part might think me composed. You, my 
dear W., who were very and most seasonably kind, 
probably saw nothing to the contrary. But the heart 
knoweth its own sorrows. Happily I had always too 
much fear of God to think of suicide for a moment. 
Affectionate respects to all at Yoxall Lodge. 

J. S. 



EDWARD JERNINGHAM, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Lincoln's Inn, November 25, 1818. 

My dear Sir, 

I think it proper, that I should make known to 
you the result of a meeting, which took place yesterday, 
of the Committee of the Board of British Catholics. 

The lamented death of our much respected Advocate 
Mr. Elliott, has turned the eyes and hearts of our whole 
body towards you, and I can sincerely say, that it is a 
sentiment which has united us all. 

It is intended, that a deputation should wait upon 
you, as soon as you return to town, and the reason of 
my making you this previous, unofficial, and private 
communication is, that I may add my individual request 
and hope, that you will not deem the petition of a body 
like that of the British Cathohcs unworthy of your high 
and far-famed reputation, as the generous and common 
advocate of the oppressed throughout the Christian 
world. 

With respect to the form of the petition intended to 
be presented this next session of Parliament by the 
Catholics of Great Britain, I have taken the liberty of 
forwarding you a printed copy of the one presented in 

20* 



234 

the session of 1816, and which the Committee of our 
Board are desirous of re-adopting. 

I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, 

With the highest sentiments of respect 
and consideration, 

Your obedient servant, 

Edw^ard Jerningham. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Temple of Peace, Wendover Dean Hill, 
September 7, 1819. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I am at length fairly settled here in that com- 
pendious magnificence of style which has been cele- 
brated by some eminent poet (I forget his name) in 
heroic French measure, — 

" A cobbler there was, and he lived in a stall," &c. ; 

but I have improved on the architectural skill of that 
illustrious descendant of Prince Crispin; for a single 
room here actually serves me not only for " parlour and 
kitchen and hall," but for bedroom, library, store room, 
cellar, and pantry. It is on the ground, and without a 
window shutter, so that should any of the wild Bucking- 
ham mountaineers that " inhabit lax" in the woods and 
commons on my flanks and rear (and a gaunt ruffian- 
looking race they are) think it a " good thing" to rob 
and murder a Master in Chancery, they have nothing 
to do but open the window and jump in, unless they 
prefer kicking in a rotten door panel. I have, however, 
got a few boards nailed together to put up against my 
window at night, which would require a blow to beat 
them in loud enough to wake me, and 1 have my trusty 
carbine with a spring bayonet ready loaded at my bed- 
side. Moreover, I take care to apprise all cruisers in 
my neighbourhood that they will find some risk in 
boarding, by firing morning and evening guns. You 
may insure me, therefore, perhaps, at a small war 
premium. 



235 

Now if you or any body should ask what I can find 
here to repay me for the privations of such a hermitage, 
I answer, " Come and see." If any man can look un- 
moved at the grandeur and varied beauties of the exten- 
sive landscape before me, let him stick to his carpeted 
drawing-rooms in town ! But perhaps he may like bet- 
ter the picturesque and the sheltered loveliness of nature, 
fertile little highland valleys, where corn fields and ver- 
dant commons that have yet escaped the Vandal enclos- 
ing acts are shut in by eminences crowned and fringed 
with luxuriant beech woods. Then let him walk with 
me one furlong only from my hermitage into my back 
grounds, and he shall enter into scenes to his choice ; 
and in a walk of four or five miles to Missenden, &c. 
find such a variety of them that he will be at a loss 
to say which charmed him the most. Or does the 
luxuriantly beautiful and rich ... a prospect extensive 
but not vast, a panorama the most distant lines of which 
are not remote enough to be obscure, but defining with 
vivid and varied tints the extremity of the horizon . . . 
I say, does a landscape like this delight him 1 then let 
him go with me to the verge of these uplands till the 
valley of Missenden bursts upon him, and descend as I 
did this morning from the heights that overhang that 
town, with the sun basking on their sides, and on the 
hills that front them. 

But I am very bad at description, though not at 
admiration of these things. I have no pencil; but I 
have eyes, ay, and I have lungs too, and legs, and the 
former' inhale with delight the cool and fragrant air 
around me, while the latter are exercised with more 
than wonted pleasure here, and with perfect exemption 
from fatigue, for I find what is rarely found on the 
uplands, a great extent of level ground in various 
directions. I can defy the sun, my great enemy, even 
in my noontide walks, and in the hottest weather. 
Indeed, if I could not, it would only keep me from 
emerging from the beech woods, which you know 
scarcely ever present the obstacle of impervious under- 
wood, or at least always have abundance of long alleys 



236 

where you are completely canopied, and yet with gleams 
here and there of sunshine, enough to dry the ground 
and exhale the fragrance. You know I always loved 
this country for that distinguishing feature (I wish Cas- 
tlereagh had not spoiled the word) of hills crowned with 
beech ; but I never liked it more than now, and in this 
particular situation. It is to the eye the best season, the 
autumnal tints just beginning to diversify the foliage. A 
Christian should have other localities to interest him 
than even those which lead us in our happiest hours to 
pious ioy and holy admiration. 

" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good, 
Almighty ! Thine this universal frame 
Thus wondrous fair ! Thyself how wondrous then !" 

Better also than those which by obvious analogies or 
associations incline to high and virtuous contempla- 
tions : — 

"Behold him seated on a mount serene, 
Above the fogs of sense and passion's storm ; 
All the black cares and tumults of this life 
Like harmless thunders breaking at his feet :" 

for these things may be thought and said, ay, and felt 
too, by abject souls. But blessed charity and active per- 
severing zeal in our Master's service, these are the 
great points, and we should choose places and every 
thing by them. He, too, loved the uplands, but He went 
up to a mountain to pray, and on a mountain He taught 
His disciples. 

Really in this respect I hope to be benefited, and 
that not only by solitude, but the hill air itself, which 
commonly assists my spirits and quickens a little my 
dull intellectual powers. Here I have brought materials 
for the active usefulness I may best attempt — my slave- 
grubbing. I have also brought, what you thought might 
he advantageously substituted for or connected with it, 
the book containing materials for the life of our dear 
and excellent departed friend H. Thornton. 

I have not been able, at least have not found oppor- 



237 

tunity, to read it till yesterday evening, and have not 
yet finished it; but have now a pretty good general view 
of the degree of assistance that might be found in it for 
a work of that kind. Its materials would go some way, 
but are not perhaps a tenth part of what we should want 
of fact, and of accurate chapter-and-verse fact, as to his 
private history. Public materials as to Sierra Leone, &c. 
might, no doubt, be easily got, and you could supply 
much if you should sit down to do so, getting somebody 
to minute down the facts you think a history of his life 
should contain. But a formidable difficulty presents 
itself to my mind as to your being his biographer or 
even his co-biographer in a work you avowed, or were 
known to have concurred in giving to the public. His 
public history runs so much parallel to your own, and 
you appear in so great a degree to have been instru- 
mental in fixing his general political principles and 
conduct, that in doing justice to him you would seem to 
be praising yourself. He says himself in one place, 
" My intimacy with Wilberforce has had an influence 
on many important events of my life." In other places, 
which I cannot so easily turn to, he particularizes cases 
in which you were the chief author of several of his 
actions in parliament and his scheme of conduct there. 
&c. as well as (what the above extract refers to) your 
persuading him to take the lead in the affairs of Sierra 
Leone. To explain and justify his general line of con- 
duct as " one of the party of no-party men," would in 
effect be like stating and defending your own. But you 
have perhaps thought of and have an answer to this 
objection. 

I should not feel the same difficulties. Perhaps even 
my defence of that line of parliamentary conduct would 
not be the less impressive as coming from me, especially 
as I should at the same time maintain stoutly that my 
own different line of conduct (I mean the different line 
of conduct which readers, perhaps, might remember to 
have been mine,) is equally justifiable when dictated by 
right motives, and qualified by proper limitations. My 
opinion has been long settled that though to have a few 



> 238 

middle men or neutrals is not only consistent with, but 
in a high degree useful to, the well working of the con- 
stitutional machine, and that to be one of these is highly 
becoming and right in a man of independent fortune, 
and the representative of a popular body; yet that a 
large infusion of such members would be fatal to the 
constitution, (as certainly so as universal suffrage itself, 
perhaps,) unless they should agree to give up particular 
opposition to measures they thought prudentially wrong, 
for the sake of general support to a government they 
thought right in the main ; i. e. in other words, unless 
they renounced their own maxims, the maxims on which 
Babington always and inexorably acted, on which H. T. 
most commonly acted, and on which you have acted 
pretty uniformly of late, and took the very line of con- 
duct which I endeavoured in general to pursue, though 
not, I am conscious, with undeviating consistency. In- 
deed my case was a difficult one, beyond even the 
ordinary situation of men brought in by the existing 
government, because Mr. Perceval was in circumstances 
to feel deeply the prejudice which the opposition of a 
known personal friend, as well as partisan in Parliament, 
always tends to produce. In many cases I was re- 
strained by this feeling. It prevented my voting and 
speaking too against the Duke of York in Mrs. Clarke's 
business, and made me think it enough not to vote at 
all. In short, I think that I could do justice to H. T.'s 
public conduct without condemning my own, though 
you could not, perhaps, without praising your own. 

Another difficulty, however, that occurred to me 
sooner, applies equally to us both, if not exclusively to 
me. Would it not be insincere, and have the effect of 
hypocrisy, if a biographer were to state the religious 
tenets of a man whom he generally holds up as an object 
of imitation and praise, without noticing his own dissent 
from them, where they are'^different from his own ? I 
am not sure, however, that you have any such difference 
to avow or conceal. I certainly thought his opinions 
and yours were much alike. But I have come to a 
part in which he states himself, to my surprise, to be. a 



239 

Calvinist, and in reference, I think, to predestination, 
only qualifying by saying that he does not hold it of 
such importance as Dr. Milner does, or something to 
that effect. Now I doubt whether you could go so far, 
or rather I am confident you could not. As to my own 
difficulties on this subject, they would be wider, as I 
need not tell you. 

After all, the grand difficulty with me is to decide 
whether my duties to the African cause, or rather the 
West Indian slave cause, can be reconciled with such 
an undertaking. 

I am, my dear W., 

Ever very affectionately yours, 

J. S. 

Pray do not send any long answer to this, unless you 
can employ another pen than your own. A few words 
will do. Address to me " Post-office, Wendover, Bucks." 
(Observe, — not the " Temple of Peace.") I know not 
whether you are aware of the cause of this appellation. 
Mr. O., by whose courtesy I occupy this room, bought 
the Temple of Peace exhibited in the park on the occa- 
sion of the peace, and has actually been foolish enough 
to hoist it on the carcass of an unfinished house, con- 
tiguous to the room I occupy. 

If we should have a thunder-storm, I shall be afraid 
of it as a conductor, for this is the very summit of the 
hills, and it rises to a great height above the building, 
with the flag-staff at its four corners ; — as to the flags, 
they are all blown away. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO RALPH CREYKE, ESQ. 

Near London, January 7, 1820. 

My dear Sir, 

I should be dishonest if I were not to confess 
that I was almost sorry to see your handwriting this 
morning; at least, for it was no more, I wished the 
arrival of your letter had been delayed till to-morrow: — 



240 

for I had intended to write to you to-day, and should 
have so done a week ago, but for my having been indis- 
posed — very opportunely; for I was unable to attend 
our discussions, when they were most interesting, on the 
Libel Bill. Our debates are not what they once were. 
I am myself, indeed, arrived at such a period, at least 
of parliamentary life, very near forty years, as to have 
become 

Laudator temporis acti 
Se puero 

But without any such prejudice, we contend in a lower 
region than when Pitt and Fox, or North and Fox and 
Burke, were the combatants ; not but that Canning dis- 
plays as much talent, and with one exception, is as 
finished an orator as I ever heard. But yet — when he 
is at his best, I am always admiring Canning — when 
Pitt and Fox were, in full song they were themselves 
forgotten, and the hearer was hurried along by the tor- 
rent, without having leisure to ask by what name it was 
distinguished, or to estimate the height or the swell or 
the rapidity of the current. 

But I blame myself for not first having assured you 
that I can sympathize with you on your family loss ; 
of which your letter gives me the first intimation. 

I hope you in the East Riding are suflfering less than 
in any other part almost of England ; for I am con- 
cerned to say that the pressure at present is not on the 
manufacturers only. Yet I believe that if the object 
were to benefit them, there is no way by which that ob- 
ject could be so securely effected as by improving the 
condition of the agriculturist. Our home market is far 
more important to us than any foreign market, perhaps, 
indeed certainly, more important to us than all our 
foreign markets put together. Did you ever scrutinize 
so as thoroughly to settle your judgment on that delicate 
question which respects our currency and paper credit? 

But, alas ! my eyes have been admonishing me to for- 
bear, and therefore I must drav7 towards a conclusion. 
And how naturally (as you go back at last to the same 



241 

key note in music from which you set out) does my mind 
revert to our domestic concerns, which touch us more to 
the quick by far, or rather enter our heart's core more 
deeply, and were so intended to do by the great Creator 
of all things, than all matters which have their places, 
however important, in outer circles. Another young 
man, also of Trinity, was carried off, not very long ago, 
quite unexpectedly. I have been much struck with the 
circumstance of my having survived so many of my 
contemporaries. I well remember the late Dr. Warren 
declaring in the spring of 1788 that I had no stamina at 
all, and could not live more than a few weeks. Yet 
both he and poor Pitcairne, one of the strongest-limbed 
men I ever beheld, are gone many years ago, and I 
apparently stronger than I was at that time ! How strange 
is it, that with these striking lessons, so strongly enforced 
on us, of the uncertainty of hfe, we should see the greater 
part of mankind around us, if not firmly believing, yet 
still farther from decidedly disbelieving, the great truths 
which the Scriptures state of what is to follow, yet 
sailing down the stream with much less care concerning 
the grand decisive issue, than about any other rever- 
sionary possession which is of any considerable value ! 
But I may check my surprise at this, and change my 
phrase of seeing others thus comparatively indifferent 
about what they would themselves acknowledge to be 
infinitely important. I myself feel this same discrepancy 
between the decision of the understanding, the conclu- 
sion of the judgment, and the feeling of the heart ; and 
it is by labour and effort that I enforce on my affections 
the practical inferences from propositions which in- 
tellectually I recognize as true and even unquestionable. 
Indeed to have acquired the habit of living under this 
impression of the reality of eternal things is to be 
spiritually minded ; and it is a temper I believe which 
can be produced by no unassisted human efforts, but of 
which we shall never remain destitute for want of 
heavenly aid, if we pursue the course prescribed in 
Scripture for the attainment of it. May you and I, my 
dear sir, possess this just estimate of things more and 

VOL. II. 21 



242 

more ! I must say that I become more and more con- 
vinced from experience, that where it does predominate 
in its just and proper bearing, it tends to render men 
better in every state and relation of Ufe. How naturally 
we pour forth our stream of thought, when we address 
a friend either in conversation or on paper ; yet my 
stream has been so often arrested in its course from 
frequent interruptions, that when set a flowing again, 
with all the intervening mass of matters filling the 
channel, I wonder if it has preserved its identity ; if it 
has, it is like one of the rivers we read of, which runs 
through a lake, and issues the same from the opposite 
extremity. I must now break off for want of time, even 
more than of eyesight, I have otherwise an unexhausted 
budget for you. 

Do tell me when you write about the state of the 
farmers within your circle. A very intelligent land 
agent told me lately, that the country could in no way 
be so well served as by Parliament's granting a large 
sum to commissioners, to be lent on good security to 
land owners for improving their estates. My plan, as 
every body has a nostrum, is to allow all commons 
under two hundred acres to be divided, enclosed, &c. 
by substituting a cheaper process than our parliamentary 
one ; — for instance, letting proofs be brought before the 
Quarter Sessions. I am afraid small commons will not 
bear the expense of an application to Parliament. Fare- 
well, my dear Sir, and beheve me, with kind regards to 
all your family circle. 

Ever sincerely yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO DON AUGUSTIN 
ARGUELLES. 

March 28, 1820. 
Sir, 

I need not assure you that the name of Arguelles 
has long been peculiarly dear to every lover of Uberty, 



243 

and in a particular degree to every friend of the Aboli- 
tion of the slave trade ; and if the debates which take 
place in our House of Commons had been preserved, 
they would testify with what grief and shame I myself 
lamented the cruel and unjust confinement under which 
you suifered. From time to time we inquired about 
you, still cherishing the hope, that ere long you would, 
one way or other, be restored to liberty ; and when the 
late Spanish revolution was announced, your deliverance 
was anticipated as one of its earliest benefits to your 
country. But the newspapers now state that you are 
appointed the Minister of Grace and Justice ; surely an 
appointment the most appropriate and auspicious for the 
most deeply injured of the human race. 

I know not how far the rigours of your unjust con- 
finement allowed you to become acquainted with the 
events that w^ere passing in the world ; but I am sure 
that if they did, you could not learn with indifference 
all the efforts that were making for delivering Africa 
from her European tormentors ; and it might well infuse 
some drops of comfort into that bitter cup which was 
allotted to you, to be justly conscious that the disposi- 
tion manifested by your country to join the other con- 
federated powers in terminating the wrongs of Africa 
had probably been produced in no small degree by the 
force of your reasoning and the power of your eloquence. 
The period is at length arriving, when the beginning of 
this good work, made in Spain by abolishing the slave 
trade north of the line, was to be finally brought to 
its conclusion by an absolute and total Abolition. The 
20th May next was named as the day on which Spain 
declared that her subjects should no longer be suffered 
to carry on a system which, under the name of commerce, 
includes in it whatever injustice and cruelty could per- 
petrate for the misery of its wretched victims. And can 
we entertain the slightest apprehension that a revolution, 
the very watchword of which is liberty, can endanger the 
fulfilment of a treaty, the object of which is to deliver 
the most miserable of all captives from the most gallina: 
of all fetters ? No, rather would your revolution have 



244 

suggested the hope of deliverance to these poor sufferers, 
than that it would dash the cup of freedom, when for 
the first time about to be presented, from their lips. 
Let then the same eloquent voice which formerly- 
pleaded the cause of these poor creatures be once more 
heard to pronounce the decree which shall declare their 
deliverance. It is by a singular ordination of Provi- 
dence that it should be reserved for you, their advocate 
in the season of their misery and degradation, to pro- 
nounce the ordinance which is to declare their admission 
to the rank of human beings, and to recognize the right 
which as our fellow-creatures they possess to the com- 
mon claims of justice and humanity. 

You probably are scarcely aware that the horrible 
traffic in human flesh is now carrying on under the 
Spanish flag with circumstances of augmented cruelty. 
All the former horrors of the slave trade have been out- 
done in some recent instances. But this fi'esh aggrava- 
tion of its evils was not wanted to convince your judg- 
ment or call forth your feelings. Yet it will prompt you 
to resume your former labours with increasing ardour, 
and to prosecute them with redoubled energy. I will 
detain you no longer than while congratulating you on 
your own deliverance, I congratulate also those who 
have so long been our common clients, that you are 
once more enabled to exert your well-known powers in 
their behalf. Lord Holland, who is accustomed to cor- 
respond with friends in Spain, has been so obliging as 
to promise me to forward to you this letter ; and he as- 
sures me that you understand English perfectly, and that 
I may therefore spare myself the effort I was about to 
make to have it translated into Spanish. I remain, 
With great respect and regard, 

Your faithful servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



245 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO SAMUEL ROBERTS, ESQ. 

June, 1820. 
My dear Sir, 

To you I will frankly confess that I should myself 
have given the preference to the proposition suggested 
in the letter in the Sheffield Iris — that of moving for the 
restoration of the Queen's name to the Liturgy. I 
myself have never concealed my opinion that it was a 
wrong step to leave the Queen's name out, and conse- 
quently I could not but have wished for its re-insertion. 
But I had all but an absolute certainty that this motion 
would be rejected, and then we should have had no 
resource. The ministers had been contending, as it is 
supposed, with the King very strenuously: they had 
once even resigned their offices; and I presume that 
they must have considered the omission of the Queen's 
name as part of a compromise to which they were 
bound to adhere. Be this as it may, it is notorious that 
a few days before my motion, they called all their adhe- 
rents together, and explained to them without reserve, 
that all the members of the Cabinet had agreed to resign 
their offices if the question for restoring the Queen's 
name to the Liturgy should be carried against them. 
Now, the influence of government in the House of 
Commons is so great, that I could not have hoped to 
carry a motion, against which all who possess offices 
would have fought so furiously, as well as all those who 
conceived that in our present circumstances a change of 
government might throw all into confusion. 

It was in this state of things that a careful perusal 
of the papers containing an account of the conferences 
between the King's ministers and the Queen's law-offi- 
cers suggested to me the expedient of which I had every 
reason to expect the success. The law-officers had not 
originally included the restoration of the Queen's name 
to the Liturgy, as any one of the chief particulars of her 
claims ; and when they did mention this restoration, 
they declared that it was asked as a recognition of her 
rights and a vindication of her character: and then they 

21* 



246 

suggested that if it could not be granted in substance, 
an equivalent might be found for it , such e. g. as her 
being introduced into any of the courts on the continent. 
This it was that constituted the ground of my hopes. 
It appeared to me that an Address of the House of 
Commons, assuring her that her giving way would not 
be construed into any wish to shrink from inquiry, but 
only to indicate afresh the disposition she had already 
expressed to sacrifice her own wishes and feelings to 
the declared sense of the House of Commons, especially 
if this Address should receive the assent of a large ma- 
jority, would be as good an equivalent as that w^hich the 
law-officers had specified. In fact I had every reason 
to believe her Majesty would have acquiesced, but for 
circumstances which I would rather state to you in person 
than by letter. Give me credit however for not assuring 
you on hght grounds, that the Queen's chief law-officer 
recommended that acquiescence. You yourself must 
have observed in the newspapers that some of the chief 
opposition members in both Houses maintained that, 
whether my motion should be accepted or rejected, it 
was impossible that the inquiry could be prosecuted. 
This was a sad obstacle; since undoubtedly I hoped 
that the Queen's comparing her situation in the two 
opposite alternatives would have led to my success. 
But after the Queen's rejection of our mediation, there 
could have been no hope of success in moving for the 
restoration of her name, and indeed I must own it would 
have been at that time an improper measure. 

Any one who has been so long as myself in public 
life must have hved in it to little purpose, not to be pre- 
pared to have his conduct misrepresented and his views 
misconstrued. I am not therefore surprised that the 
great part even of intelligent bystanders do not advert 
to the suggestion of the Queen's law-officers, on which 
alone my motion was grounded; but consider me as 
proposing from my own mere speculation, that the Queen 
should consent to give way on the disputed question con- 
cerning the Liturgy. I shall be glad to hear from you 
from time to time, especially during the present very 



247 

interesting state of the public nnind. I remain, nny dear 
sir, with cordial esteem and regard, 

Yours very sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



HON. WILLIAM LAMB (now LORD MELBOURNE) TO 
WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Whitehall, August 2, 1820. 

My dear Sir, 

I have this morning received your letter, and am 
very sorry indeed not to have had an opportunity of 
conversing with you before you left London, upon the 
present state of pubHc affairs, although I am very much 
afraid no satisfactory conclusion could have been come 
to. I see the danger as clearly, and in as strong a light 
as you do, but I do not see any step that can be taken 
■with a rational hope or prospect of averting it. I met 
Mr. Rumbold, the member for Yarmouth, in the street 
yesterday, who like all other rational persons, or rather 
like all other persons, for I never witnessed so general 
an apprehension, is much alarmed, and he told me that 
he had seen you at Lord Carrington's, and that your 
idea was, that there should be county meetings, to 
petition the Crown and the Parliament to put a stop to 
the whole inquiry. However desirable such a course 
might have been at the beginning, it is impossible not 
to see that there are great difficulties attending upon it 
in the present state of the affair, now that the Crown has 
already instituted and the House of Lords is pledged to 
prosecute the investigation. But the weightiest objection 
to such a measure appears to me the extreme uncertainty 
of the result of such meetings, and the doubt whether 
they would not tend to inflame and excite, rather than 
to tranquillize discontent and irritation. Supposing that 
in some few counties the influence of the gentlemen, &c. 
might be sufficient to procure the adoption of wise and 
temperate resolutions, there would be great danger in far 
the greater number that other counsels and other feelings 



248 

would prevail. A spirit of opposition would be excited; 
the same misrepresentations would take place as in the 
case of your motion; it would be said to be all done in 
concert with, and in subservience to, the views of the 
Ministry ; the Queen would be exhorted and encouraged 
to accede to nothing ; the whole attempt would be un- 
successful, and leave nothing behind it but more violent 
heats and increased unpopularity to the authors of it. 
These are the considerations which press strongly upon 
my mind ; but I am conscious that perhaps I am too 
despairing in matters of this nature, and lean too much 
to the side of doing nothing, and awaiting the course of 
events. If there were a fair opening of success, the ob- 
ject is so great, that it would be true cowardice not to 
hazard something for it. I should be most glad to hear 
from you upon the subject, and so much do I esteem 
your opinion, that I shall this night write to Lord Dacre, 
who is most deeply impressed with the peril of the crisis, 
to consult him upon the subject. One misfortune is, 
that if any thing of this sort were advisable, it should 
have been set about long before. There is now hardly 
time enough left for effectual measures of this nature. 

There is also a very great difficulty, which attends 
all such situations as that in which we are at present 
placed, and I cannot but suggest it for your considera- 
tion. I admit that there appears to me to be great dan- 
ger of serious popular tumult and insurrection. I admit 
it to you, but I should be very loth to admit it generally, 
or to persons of whose judgment I had not a high opi- 
nion ; because nothing aggravates danger of this kind so 
much as confessing fear ; it encourages those from whom 
the danger proceeds, and may almost be said to produce 
the very evil it apprehends. Supposing then that this 
whole business were now to be concluded by the extra- 
ordinary means of an exertion of influence on the part 
of the property of the country, would it not create in 
the disaffected an exaggerated notion of the present 
peril, and of their own strength ? Would they not say 
to themselves, the higher orders, &lc. were sensible that 
this trial, if persevered in, would have brought about a 



249 

revolution ; they are aware of our strength, they fear it ; 
and would not such reasoning bring about and hasten 
that struggle to which, it is impossible to conceal from 
one's self, every thing in this country appears to tend ? 
That such appearances may be, as appearances in poli- 
tics often are, delusive and fallacious, is my earnest hope 
and prayer, and I remain. 
My dear Sir, 

With great respect and esteem, 
Yours very sincerely, 
' William Lamb. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bledlowe, August 31, 1820, 
Thursday evening. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I never come here but to receive good ; transient, 
perhaps, but good of the right kind ! No wonder. It 
was through my dear S.'s kindness that my connection 
with Bledlowe commenced, and it has pleased God to 
make you and her the instruments of good to me in 
almost every thing in which you have had any influence 
on my concerns. 

But I should have made a wider though less grateful 
remark. How much of what is good for us do we lose 
in London? How much is the heart made better by 
the country ? You, and even I, perhaps, do more good 
for others in the former, but the latter is the place where 
I learn what is good for myself. I love the country ; I 
love its natural innocent joys ; I love its natural instruc- 
tive sorrow too. Here my son and daughter are so con- 
versant with the '" short and simple annals of the poor" 
around them, that I am always led by them to indivi- 
dualize in the most impressive manner those abstract 
ideas of the sufferings of the lower orders which engage 
our speculations so much, and bur real sympathies so 
little, in town. .. 



250 

But I am abstracting here myself, when I sat down 
simply to narrate. 

The bell tolled two hoiars ago while we were dining. 
Who is it you have to bury ? A poor old man, Folly by 
name, who died on Monday last. Oh, I recollect the 
name. I used to laugh at his being simple enough to 
be persuaded to call his son Solomon. What is become 
of the boy Solomon Folly ? &c. &c. 

But my son returns. He has buried two bodies in- 
stead of one. And who is the other ? Poor old Taylor 
from the workhouse ; he died only this morning, but we 
have been obliged to bury him : the case was a mortifi- 
cation, and he was already offensive. 

On further inquiries, I learnt that the deceased was a 
very honest, industrious old parishioner, who had v/ith 
his wife lived creditably to the age of eighty, never call- 
ing on the parish for relief, till at last total inability to 
work had obliged them to do so (two or three years 
ago.) Shocking to relate, they were compelled to quit 
their long-loved cottage, and go into the poor-house, to 
their deep but patient affliction. 

I sally into the churchyard. I find Friday the clerk 
and sexton, and who was late master of the poor-house, 
covering in the grave of poor old Taylor; I hear a 
panegyric upon him that makes me wish to be so covered 
in his stead ; sober, humble, industrious, kind to his old 
helpmate, always regular in his devotions, &c. all that 
man can see of the best symptoms. 

But the poor widow of this morning is disconsolate, 
and is hurt at his being buried so soon. I have been at 
the poor-house to comfort her, and think I have suc- 
ceeded. But oh, what a tale ! *' We have lived together, 
sir, since twenty-two ; and our ages were so near the 
same, I know not which was oldest; he was in his 
eightieth year. Then the suffering ! He has laboured 
under a mortification ever since Christmas last, and has 
of late suffered terribly." Poor old woman ! this which 
should have consoled her was rather her present chief 
topic of affliction ! It is in heaven only that even our 



251 

kindliest feelings will be rational. " Lo ! these are they 
which have come out of great tribulation." 

But where am I rambhng ? you do not want these 
suggestions, and yet, my dear "Wilberforce, I have no- 
body that I think of writing to in such moods but you. 

God bless you and yours, and may it be not among 
your trials to be bereft like poor old and nearly blind 
M. B. Taylor. 

Yours ever, very affectionately, 

J. Stephen. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed — " True picture of his pious mind.") 

Uxbridge, Sunday evening, September 24, 1820, 
eight o'clock. 

" A faithful friend is the medicine of life; and they that fear the Lord 
shall find him." — Ecclesiasticus, vi. 16. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

Here I am on my way to town. My landlady 
at my request brought me a Bible. It was a folio, with 
the apocrypha. Why do we Protestants not make more 
use of those books, since the Church articles allow it ? 
They certainly contain many most sublime passages : 
and if we had a right to judge from internal evidence 
what books were written by inspiration, or fell within 
the apostle's definition, " all Scripture," &c., I know of 
none in the Old Testament, the Book of Psalms ex- 
cepted, that I should be more disposed to place in the 
sacred canon than this book of Ecclesiasticus. But the 
council of Laodicea, it seems, has stopped our right of 
judging by evidence internal or external. These, how- 
ever, are the crude notions of a very unlearned man. 

I have had one of my very pleasant Sundays — long 
solitary walking, fine weather, and the most exhilarating 
views of the goodness of the Creator in the beauties of 
the landscape around me, and then every thing falHng 



252 

out kindly and beyond expectation. It has been one of 
the days in which 1 cannot help thinking that the kind, 
tender, judicious spirit of your dear sister has been 
hovering over me, holding the reins of my fancy, and 
determining all, as far as v^^as consistent with the free- 
dom of my moral choice. Mistake me not; such 
thoughts do not diminish, they rather increase, my gra- 
titude to her God and mine. He is not less the All-in- 
all, the gracious Source of every good, because He em- 
ploys His ministering spirits in His works of benignity 
towards me. 

I was obliged to be in town early to-morrow morning. 
I rejected the stages, because it was Sunday. ' They 
shall have no abetting of their vile profanations and their 
robbing the poor brutes of their Sabbath rest from me. 
The same objection applies more strongly to posting. 
Yet the night and early morning were tempestuous, and 
the rain continued till near ten. It was hard to frame a 
plan for being twice at church in my way, and yet get 
hither before nightfall, even supposing the weather to 
grow and continue fair, of which there seemed no pro- 
bability. Yet if I could have commanded weather and 
every thing else, the business could not have been ma- 
naged more to my comfort and satisfaction. I was at 
Missenden church in the morning, as for good reasons I 

wished to be. I heard Mr. at Chalfords St. Giles's, 

in the afternoon as I also wished, and had several little 
unconcerted, yet necessary accommodations to effect 
ail this and make it as agreeable as possible, which it 
would be tedious to explain, the coincidence of which is 
really very striking and strange. But these things are 
by no means rare to me : they are almost invariable. I 
should fear to write in such a strain to almost any body 
but you. Yet why should it be thought presumptuous, 
why should it be thought degrading to the bounteous, 
all-pervading, all-directing Providence of Him who has 
declared the hairs of our heads are all numbered, and 
that though not a sparrow falls to the ground without 
His care, we are of more value in His sight than many 
sparrows 1 Such views help us to trust in Him, help us 



253 

to love Him, and what gives Him our hearts is not a 
trifle in His gracious, condescending, infinitely, incon- 
ceivably, condescending, regard. 

1 stop to buy a doll, a hopping frog, trumpery of any 
kind, for my little grandchildren ; and v^^hy 'i Because, 
ridiculously trivial though the things are in themselves, 
they lead them to love grandpapa. But there is irrever- 
ence in every possible illustratipn of this subject, as well 
as infinite inadequacy. You will understand me, and 
that is enough, and so good night; for I must to bed, 
meaning to be on the tramp again by five in the 
morning. 

Yours, my dear and faithful friend, 
" The medicine of my fife," ever very aflfectionately, 

J. S. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. 

Bath, September 29, 18Q0. 

My dear Stephen, 

It quite vexes me not to be able to pour forth a 
little of the effusions which your last affectionate and to 
me delightful letter called forth (delightful, because I love 
Stephen, and it was Stephen all over, and as a picture 
should be, the likeness rather of his best). But company 
are actually up-stairs, come to dinner, and I am not 
dressed yet. — About your last letter, however, I have 
one word to say. I wish the idea of our Saviour had 
occurred to you : we are expressly, told, " Giving thanks 
always, &c. &c. through Jesus Christ." I like to asso- 
ciate Christ with all my religious ideas, as the object of 
gratitude and love, and God, the supreme God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, also. 

I must break off"; but this is a practical remark, and 
I could not have been easy without making it. O, my 
dear friend, how thankful should we be for knowing 
truths, compared with which all the world's wisdom is 
vanity and folly. 

VOL. II. 22 



254 

Poor Chancellor ! 

Poor Master in Chancery ! 

Poor great and rich men ! 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. WILBERFORCE. 

Jan. 25, 1821. 

My day ever since breakfast time has been con- 
sumed by two peers of the realm ; Lord C. had a good 
share of it, but I am told that by the clock Lord Har- 
rowby was full two hours and a half with me, and 
I have barely time to scribble my letter to you ; the bul- 
letin report "^is — Well, I thank God. I have several 
visits to pay, and would you believe it, I am just now 
drawn into volunteering a dinner with Inglis, to meet 
Walter Scott. 

I enclose a letter from P., which breathes so friendly 
a spirit that I think you and the girls ought to see it, in 
order to do justice to his kindness. I love to make 
people like each other better, and I often regret the 
tattling system, which prevails so generally, and from 
which I grieve to say many, of whom it would be un- 
charitable not to think favourably on the whole, are 
nevertheless not exempt. It is indeed a striking instance 
of our natural self-deception, that persons who would 
quite shrink from the idea of committing most of those 
crimes which are condemned in the word of God, think 
little of the vices of the tongue. But any one who is 
duly jealous of himself will always watch most care- 
fully against the sins which are the least unpopular in 
his own circle, and certainly the great evil of what is 
called the religious world is chatter ation. 

Pray let the girls see my letter. Young people 
ought especially to guard against this fault, and when I 
write to you now I consider myself as addressing them 

also. I beg you will write occasionally to and 

; their sisters also should write to them pretty fre- 



255 

quently. I assure you, both from my own experience 
and from that of others, that at their period of life the 
frequent recurrence of home associations, and of sisterly 
affection, has a pecuHarly happy effect both on the cha- 
racter and manners. Can you send your news- 
paper after reading it; he has repeatedly asked to have 
one, and I don't hke to send him an opposition paper ? 
Return the Courier I send to-day, and if you have any 
convenient opportunity you might send me my Park- 
hurst's Lexicon. Farewell, with kindest remembrances 
to the dear girls, 

Ever affectionately yours, 

Vy. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO REV. HUGH PEARSON, 
(now DEAN OF SALISBURY). 

London, February 1, 1821. 

My dear Sir, 

I have not a little regretted the various hinder- 
ances which have from day to day prevented my sooner 
writing to you again, agreeably to the assurance con- 
tained in my last letter. Even now I cannot write to 
you as fully as I wish. Yet 1 am really anxious to state 
to you the considerations which influence my judgment 
in the question of restoring the Queen's name to the 
Liturgy; because my persuasion that this step is impe- 
riously dictated by sound policy, so far from being owing 
in any degree to my feeling less reverence and attach- 
ment towards the throne than my countrymen in genera], 
arises out of those very emotions, and from my deep 
conviction of the inestimable benefits w^hich we owe to 
the monarchical branch of our constitution. 

Unhappily, from various causes w^hich are but too 
obvious, the bulk of the more religious and sober of the 
middling and lower classes of this country have imbibed 
a persuasion, call it a prejudice, on this subject, which 
nothing will eradicate. To you I need not remark what 
pains are taken by the seditious abusers of the liberty of 
the press to poison and irritate the minds of the better 



256 

disposed part of our community, and this affair of the 
Liturgy supplies them with a topic better suited to their 
purpose than any other that could be devised. They 
will not admit that the Queen is prayed for substantially 
though not by name, and they unjustly, I grant, impute 
her exclusion to the personal hatred of the King. And 
let her be ever so bad, they say, is she too bad to be 
prayed for ? And then they bring up and place in the 
most invidious points of view, and invest with the blackest 
colouring, all the stories they have heard, or rather read, 
about the King himself when Prince of Wales, and ob- 
ject that he at least has no right to be called most reli- 
gious, &c. Then it happens most sadly, that the best 
class of the community, the agricultural class, is suffer- 
ing the most extreme depression, and I fear it is not 
likely to mend. And we know but too well that people 
in such a state of wretchedness are just prepared to be- 
come the dupes of the factious agitators, who know too 
well how to use their advantages. Again, consider that 
as the Queen is prayed for in all the Dissenting and 
Methodist chapels throughout the kingdom, there is a 
standing premium operating against the Church of Eng- 
land, and the people will have their present feelings 
maintained by the weekly repetition of the service. 

I was very sorry to be unable to find a convenient 
opportunity of speaking the other night, when, as you 
will see, I voted with Ministers. I should have liked 
to speak my mind a little plainly on some topics, more 
especially on that system of party which now reigns 
with such avowed predominance. It is that, in my 
mind, which has done more harm than any other cause 
to the character of Parhament. It so tinctures and 
distorts the view of the best men, and so biases their 
judgments, as to make them act in ways which you 
would previously have thought impossible. What else 
could have made Lord Milton subscribe to the Queen's 
plate, and the Duke of Bedford to the subscription for 
Hone? What else can render our old nobility blind 
to the efforts that are using with such mischievous 
industry to pull down the throne, and with it the 



257 

Church, and all that preserves the order and peace of 
society ? But I must lay down my pen, only let me not 
forget to tell you that I should have wished the conces- 
sion to be made by the King himself, and to be avowedly 
for the sake of his people, to prevent their being misled 
and seduced by artful and bad men, and thereby alien- 
ated from their King and country. My persuasion is, 
that his Majesty would fix in the minds of the well-dis- 
posed part of the population a deeper sense of his regard 
for the public welfare than by any other possible ex- 
pedient. O how much are persons to be pitied who are 
placed in these high stations of dignity and danger ! 
When young, every wish anticipated, every desire grati- 
fied ; when older, every motive calumniated, every 
action perverted; and above all, they are in danger, 
from the multiplicity of their concerns, of neglecting the 
one thing needful ; and it is in truth the grand vice of 
the modern system of Christianity, that it does not enough 
represent Christianity in her true character, that of hold- 
ing out the arms of invitation to persons of all ages and 
conditions, offering them the best blessings our nature 
can receive, pardon and peace, and love and joy, holi- 
ness and happiness. That you and I, my dear sir, may 
more and more largely partake of this blessed portion, 
is the cordial wish and prayer of. 

Yours sincerely and aflfectionately, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO 



(Intended to reach the King's eye.) 

March 6, 1821. 

My dear Sir, 

After having been confined for a week to my 
chamber, I have just now heard a piece of intelligence, 
and that from no mean authority, which would have 
been a cordial to me had my nerves required a re- 
fresher. I mean that the Queen sent last night to 
say that she would thankfully receive the money offered 

22*- 



258 

her ; and it was added, that she would now be glad of 
her name's being put as a matter of grace and favour 
into the Liturgy, because if she were abroad, the omis- 
sion would operate so unfavourably on her. The pros- 
pects thus opened to us are really cheering. For re- 
member, and that is what you and other friends have 
not sufficiently considered, that it is not that I, or any 
experienced man, ever supposed the bulk of the people 
would long feel acutely about the omission of the Queen's 
name, but that the omission would tend to produce an 
estimation (a most false one) of the King's mind and 
motives, and a state of alienation of heart which would 
help to render them the more easy dupes of the artful, 
bad men who are trying to seduce them from reverence 
and regard for all they ought to respect and love. But 
now, my dear sir, what an opportunity for the king to 
establish himself in the good-will of the people, when it 
w411 clearly and indubitably appear to be the result of 
his own spontaneous grace ! Really 

" Deus hsBc tempora," &c. 

I thought I would throw -out this hint to you. I do 
really think there scarcely ever was such an opening. 

Never did you utter a more just word than that of 
prudence, which you suggested in a former letter. Good 
people are not always prudent people. The vices of the 
tongue, to speak honestly, are far too little regarded by 
those whom we may hope do make a conscience of their 
words and works ; yet how strong is Solomon and St. 
James, and above all, our Saviour ! I myself have often 
had this truth enforced on me. A public man of sixty- 
one and a half, for thirty years an intimate of a prime 
minister, must be incurable if he is a babbler. 

With kind remembrances to Mrs. , I remain. 

Ever yours sincerely, 

W. WiLBERFORCE, 



259 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A SON AT COLLEGE. 

Kensington Gore, April 3, 182 L 



My dear -— — , 

Never be shy in speaking to me on the subject of 
money. I trust, indeed, that there will be no subject 
on which you and I shall ever feel any shyness in our in- 
tercourse. Let me beg you always to deal unreservedly 
with me, even when you may be conscious you may 
have to state what it may be painful to me to know. 
You shall always find me disposed to behave to you in 
all respects like a real friend ; and remember, you never 
can have a friend whose interests are more identical with 
your own, or whose credit is more implicated in yours. 
Young men, too often, are not enough aware of the evils 
which result from weakening confidence, which was 
beautifully, as well as justly, said to be a plant of slow 
and difficult growth in an aged bosom. 

On this topic of money it may become necessary for 
me, I fear, to speak to all my children. This returning 
so hastily to a metallic currency, a subject on which 
your master* has written with the pen of a political 
economist of no ordinary ability, has so suddenly in- 
creased the value of money, and brought down the 
prices of all raw produce, that our farmers are gradually 
falling into ruin, and I shall be very glad indeed if the 
lowering my rents 25 per cent, (and they were always 
ordered to be fixed on fair and moderate terms) will 
enable my tenants to pay me the remainder. Yet to 
a man who, like me, has never designedly saved any 
thing, such a diminution of income, a fourth, is not 
very convenient — but certainly we should all learn 
and practise economy. Economy is not inconsistent 
with generosity ; on the contrary, unless people are as 
affluent as I myself was before my marriage, there can 
be no generosity without it : indeed, I ought not to 
have excepted myself then, for it was by being econo- 
mical in every branch of my establishment, having but 

* The Bishop of LiandafF. 



280 

one house, one pair of horses, a less expensive table, 
less costly furniture, &c., than other people of my 
own fortune, that I was able to act with a generosity 
from which, I am sure, had mere self-gratification been 
my object, I should have been abundantly recompensed. 

You would scarcely suppose, my dear , by the 

way in which I run on, that I am sadly stinted for 
time this morning ; such, however, is the fact ; but 
when I begin writing to you, I find it very difficult to 
leave oflf; I must, however, very unwiUingly change 
my correspondent, not lay down my pen. Farewell, my 

very dear , and believe me 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, April 22, 1821. 

Mv dear Friend, 

Never, I beseech you, make an apology to me 
about not writing — I am always grieved when I am 
under the necessity of adding a feather to your load of 
cares. I never meant you should subscribe to Frome 
Church. I told them that your large and liberal charity 
purse did not suffice to the demands made upon it. 
Should any thing occur to you in the way of advice, 
it would be useful. This is the third church in this 
neighbourhood for which I have been called upon to 
give my pittance within a few months. Clifton promises 
very well. 

How did your kind letter, received yesterday, cast 
down the high imaginations which your preceding one 
had raised ! I had hved, and made others live, upon 
King Henry the First* ever since ! We are naturally 
looking to you as the highly favoured among men, to be 
the grand agent of Providence to consummate the glo- 
rious work to which He has, in His mercy, been pleased 

* Christophe. 



261 

fo call you — that of being the instrument of giving that 
liberty, wherewith Christ has made them free, to the 
souls of our black brethren, which you have in a 
measure obtained for their bodies. And now, by an 
inscrutable Providence, your organ of pleading is taken 
away. God's ways are not as our ways — we must 
adore now, we shall understand hereafter. My poor 
unworthy prayers are constantly and fervently offered 
up for the restoration of your voice, and preservation 

of your life. — It is a dying world ! Dear ! What 

a saint has heaven gained ! and what a mother have 

her six helpless babes lost ? Lady wrote me a 

very affecting account of the whole. But I had not 

heard of 's domestic sorrows till I got your letter. 

I cannot guess how people who have no religion bear 
their afflictions and trials, when to the most pious and 
submissive they cost so dear ! 

The enclosed is to thank the artist for a present of 
your print. I have now five, each of which has some 
one characteristic merit. Slater is a pious as well as 
ingenious man. 

My late neighbour, Whalley, who is Hving at Brussels, 
writes me that he is lodging in the same hotel with Cam- 
basceres. They have much intercourse. He assures him 
that Buonaparte used to kick and cuff his marshalls, and 
knock down poor Josephine. He says his angry pas- 
sions were always at work — that he was never silent 
one minute. 

Patty and I have not been out of doors for more than 
"seven months. We are now only waiting for a western 
breeze to break prison. 

A friend of mine was lately present at a Bible meeting 
in Ireland. — Of all the birds in the air, who do you 
think was in the chair ? Old Edgeworth. The noble- 
man who was to have presided was taken ill : they were 
at a loss, and picked up this old sinner in the street, 
and told him he must go in and speak. " What must I 
say ]" said he — " it is so ut-terly out of my way ; I know 
nothing about the Bible; give me a few heads." They 
did, and he made an excellent speech, highly eulogizing 



262 

the sacred book, as that from which we first received 
our principles, and all that was good in us ! ! I am 
afraid we have other presidents not much better, though 
few, I believe, take such large strides towards atheism 
as this poor man ! Yet they say it has helped the 
cause with the irreligious, for no one can say that Edge- 
worth is a fanatic. 1 would not write on thus, but that 
it requires no answer. Love to Mrs. W. and her dear 
children. I wish one of them would send me three 
lines to say how you are. 

May God Almighty restore you ! 

H. More. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A DAUGHTER. 

Kensington Gore, Sunday evening, June, 1821, 



My dearest 



I trust I need not assure you that the letter which 
I received from you a few days ago gladdened my 
heart, and that not with a transient joy, but with solid 
and permanent satisfaction. It is now your business, 
my dear child, to endeavour to strengthen the founda- 
tion of all Christian graces, by learning more and more 
habitually to live and walk by faith and not by sight. 
Accustom yourself to be spiritually-minded, which, as 
the apostle truly says, is both life and peace. Frequent 
self-examination is one of the means which you will 
find eminently useful for this end. You would do well 
to practise it in the middle of the da}^ as well as in the 
morning and evening. A very few moments will suf- 
fice for a general retrospect of the past morning. I 
have often kept written on a small slip of paper a note of 
my chief besetting sins, against which it was especially 
necessary that I should be habitually watching and 
guarding ; of the chief Christian graces which I wished 
to cultivate ; of the grand truths which I desired to 
bear in remembrance : and I used to look over this 
paper at my seasons of prayer or of self-examination. My 
chief duties and relations (such as father, brother, friend, 



263 

acquaintance, master,) were down on this paper, and 
were thus kept in constant view. But in using this or 
any other expedient, you w411, 1 am sure, remember ever 
to be looking up for that grace which can alone enable 
us to will or to do what is well pleasing to God. It is 
a very different thing to acknowledge this as a doctrinal 
tenet, and to live under the habitual impression of its 
truth, and to be carrying on, as it were, a continual in- 
tercourse with heaven by ejaculatory prayer. 

I rejoice to think that my dear girl is striving to live 
under the practical influence of this blessed principle of 
spiritual-mindedness; and having been engaged in prayer 
for you, and knowing that to-morrow I should be ex- 
tremely engrossed, and indeed not to-morrow merely, 
but for the whole week, I resolved to do that which 
you must observe I scarcely ever have done on this 
day, I mean, to write to my absent daughter. The 
truth is, that I have always been afraid, if I should 
make a practice of writing on a Sunday even to my 
children, lest they should adopt the same habit without 
so much necessity for it as I can plead from the little 
command I have of my own time ; and there is nothing, 
you must have observed, of which I have always been 
more jealous than of any thing which might tend to 
impair the sanctity and spirituality of the Lord's day. 
I think that often gcfod people have been led by the 
terms of the fourth commandment to lay more stress 
on the strictness of the Sunday than on its spirituahty ; 
on its being the day on which we are to make it our 
business, our set work, to cultivate our acquaintance 
with the invisible world, to cultivate our love both of 
God, of Christ, and of our fellow-creatures. Even in 
Isaiah's time, indeed, this spiritual improvement of this 
blessed interval from the cares and occupations of life 
was understood and enjoined. You must remember 
that remarkable passage, " If thou make the Sabbath 
a delight," &c. : and it is observable, that the reward of 
obedience that is promised is, " Then shalt thou delight 
thyself in the Lord" (ch. Iviii. tov^ards the end), thus, 
as in other instances, intimating to us beyond dispute. 



264 

by inference, that we m^y enjoy a particular grace or 
practise a particular duty, though heaven-derived, from 
being commanded to possess and abound in them. But 
I am called avs^ay, and for the present must say fare- 

v^ell. While I rejoice that my dear is employed 

so rationally, so usefully, in a manner also so pleasing 
to God, and so happily for herself, I cannot but look 
forward to the time of our again meeting and living a 
little quietly in the country, if it may please God, with 
some earnestness of desire. But it is right that we 
should abstain from all aerial castle building, and 
remember that not only the time is short, but even 
uncertain. We know not what a day may bring forth. 
Let us therefore be doing on the day the duties of the 
day, and then leave the future to that gracious Being 
who has declared Himself faithful to his promises. This 
world is not our rest ; and it is best for us that our 
schemes for the future should often be disappointed, in 
order to teach us our true condition. For even with all 
the admonitions we are continually receiving of the un- 
certainty of all human things, we are but too apt to be 
forming for ourselves plans of future imaginary plea- 
sure. 1 have been writing latterly, scarcely looking at 
my pen — but I hope I am legible. Farewell. 

Ever affectionately, 

W. WiLBERFOROE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO PRINCE CZARTORYSKI. 

Harden Park, near Godstone, August 14, 1821. 

Sir, 

The present of a curious Bible with which your 
Highness lately honoured me manifests that I still hve 
in your remembrance, and assuredly I retain a lively 
recollection of the friendly intercourse with which your 
Highness favoured me, when in England. Let me now 
return your Highness my best acknowledgments for so 
obliging a mark of your esteem ; and let me at the same 
time avail myself of the opportunity afforded by Mr. 



265 

Sienlviewick's return to his own country, for assuring 
your Highness of my best wishes for your heahh, use- 
fulness, and happiness. 

Remembering the interesting topics on which we con- 
versed together, and the attention which your Highness 
paid to our various institutions for the improvement and 
benefit of mankind, I cannot but continue to feel a deep 
interest in your proceedings, and I only wish that your 
Highness had a field of operation and instrument to put 
in motion equal to your desires of benefiting your 
country and the human race. 

By my last expression I am naturally reminded of 
those wTCtched beings who have been so long the objects 
of my concern. Your Highness, I am sure, will sym- 
pathize with me in the deep regret with w^hich I inform 
you that, notwithstanding the solemn sentence of con- 
demnation which was pronounced against the slave 
trade by the assembled powers of Europe at Vienna 
and Aix-la-Chapelle, it is still carried on, almost with- 
out restraint. My own country, indeed, (blessed be 
God!) is now delivered from the criminality and shame 
of this guilty traffic. But it is still carried on by several 
of the powers which joined in the condemnation of it, 
more especially by France — the last power we should 
have hoped that would have been tempted to take up a 
commerce in human beings, which Great Britain had 
indignantly abandoned, as being defiled by wickediiess 
and cruelty. When men disclaim the laws of God and 
the dictates of justice and humanity, it is only by a 
sense of shame that they can be made to do their duty. 
And we may hope that if all virtuous and honourable 
men in the higher circles would bear their testimony 
against a system productive of so much misery and 
barbarism, the government of France would be ashamed 
of sacrificing the credit of their country for the sake of 
little, and, as our experience shows, a doubtful commer- 
cial benefit. 

Let me then engage you, Prince, to be my confe- 
derate in this holy warfare. It is a service in which I 
am persuaded you will never regret to have engaged ; 

VOL. 11. 23 



268 

and you may probably live to see your zealous benevo- 
lence rewarded by the grov^^ing civilization of Africa, 
rescued from the tormentors who are still prolonging 
her darkness and barbarism. 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE DUCHESS DE BROGLIE. 

Harden Park, August 23, 1821. 

Madame, 

General Macaulay lately visited me in my country 
retreat, and gave me much curious, and, I am sorry to 
say, much painful intelligence. It was to me not the 
least interesting particular of it to hear that the Duchess 
de Broglie had mentioned me with kindness, and the 
intelligence confirmed an intention I had before formed, 
of addressing a few lines to her. You, I doubt not, will 
sympathize in the feelings which are excited in me, 
when I proceed to execute this duty — feelings of a 
tender, and, though not absolutely a painful, yet a 
melancholy kind. 

It seldom happens that any one, on looking back for 
several years, can forbear to have a sigh, if not a tear, 
called forth by the retrospect. Such is indeed the case 
in this country, where, however, our insular situation 
has so exempted us from the stupendous reverses which 
France has exhibited, that the monotonous uniformity 
of our life may appear scarcely to furnish incidents to 
affect the heart ; yet, in our motley world, the events 
of private life will, in any country, abundantly suffice 
for the purpose, and 1 should be void of all feeling, if 
my sensibility were not powerfully called forth in ad- 
dressing the Duchess de Broglie. I rejoice to hear that 
you continue to direct your endeavours to the improve- 
ment and happiness of your fellow-creatures, and that 
the Due de Broglie has manifested, that the poor un- 
offending victims of avarice, who are the objects of my 
special care, have not failed to attract the notice of a 
nobleman who is so justly respected and esteemed. I 



267 

rejoice to find that he recognises the claim, which 
weakness and nnisery have on the pity and the exertions 
of superior rank^ talents, and virtue — that very Aveak- 
ness and misery, in which the low-minded and the 
mercenary, sometimes cunning, but never wise, see only 
the prey to satiate their base rapacity. 

After the honourable earnestness with which your 
country united with all the other great powers of Eu- 
rope at the congress of Vienna, and afterwards at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, in pronouncing sentence of condem- 
nation on the slave trade as a system of wickedness 
and cruelty, the greatest that had ever affronted the 
justice and excited the commiseration of mankind, it 
cannot but be to the hopes of every good and humane 
mind most deeply disappointing, to see the government 
of France so far forgetful of its own duty and of the 
respect it owes to the character of the nation whose 
affairs it administers as to be tempted by a petty, and 
on the whole a very uncertain, profit, to return with 
avidity to this base traffic in the human species. The 
statesmen who can think of founding the social edifice 
of such a country as France on such a mean foundation, 
have indeed profited little from the moral lessons which 
have been afforded to mankind within the last twenty 
years. 

I shall think it an honour, as well as a pleasure, to 
supply M. de Broglie with any intelligence he may 
desire ; or, indeed, to execute any commission either 
for him or for yourself in this country. 

Excuse this trespass on your time, and believe me, 
With cordial respect and attachment. 

Your obliged and faithful servant, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

London, March 19, 1822. 

My dear Friend, 

I have been for above two months carrying about 
with me in my pocket-book the enclosed half note, not 



268 

thinkinor it quite right without necessity to put it into 
any hands but your own ; and hoping that, as I trust is 
now the case, the period would arrive when I might 
execute that intention. It is a contribution which I feel 
it an honour to make, as one of the fruits of our long 
and uninterrupted friendship ; and I hope a better mo- 
tive than vanity confirms the gratifying recollection, 
that I first was the honoured instrument of leading you 
to set on foot your admirable plans for the benefit of 
your poor cottagers, by making you acquainted with the 
dark and desolate condition in which they then lay sunk. 
There is no part of your life on which I reflect with 
more pleasure than on the payment of your debt to the 
Barbarians, after settUng your account so honourably 
with the Greeks, — the polished inhabitants of the London 
squares. It has pressed of late years, I fear, too hard 
on your pocket ; but it has been a blessed work, and I 
cannot but hope that it will prove a model which others 
will hereafter imitate. 

My dear friend, may the Almighty continue to grant 
you the divine support, to sustain you under ail your 
sufferings. It is an unspeakable satisfaction to reflect 
that they are all measured out by unerring wisdom and 
unfailing love, that therefore they are neither needless 
nor superfluous ; neither will they be fruitless. You will, 
I doubt not, rejoice hereafter in having gone through 
them, however trying to the flesh. That blessed sen- 
tence of the Apostle's, "I reckon that the light afflic- 
tions of this life, which," comparatively speaking, " are 
but for a moment, will work out a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory." May your crown be rich 
as it will be incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading! 
And it is the best consolation your sympathizing friends 
can have . . . whether they manifest their affection 
by waiting at your bedside, or by the solicitude with 
which they receive the communications about you from 
those attendants in whose services they would them- 
selves gladly share . . . that they may justly cherish 
the persuasion, that not a paroxysm of pain or a season 
of languor do you now experience which will not be 



269 

abundantly overpaid in that blessed world where sick- 
ness as well as sorrow shall have fled away. Farewell, 
farewell, my dear friend, may God, through Christ, and 
by His Holy Spirit, be your present support, and your 
everlasting portion ! 

Ever your sincere and affectionate friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



RT. HON. G. CANNING TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Gloucester Lodge, May 1, half past eleven. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

" My eyes just open on your" note. But though 
awake, I am not in a condition to get out of bed yet, for 
my cold and hoarseness have returned upon me, and I 
must turn round (after having finished this note) and 
try to sleep them off. 

I can therefore better sympathize wdth you than you 
imagined. But I am very glad to know the cause 
(though very sorry for its existence) of your going away 
last night, because it will enable me to set many people 
right. I did not happen to fall in with Heber last night, 
and Money could not give me any tidings of you. Hap- 
pily we had a majority of five — quite enough for the 
first stage in so *' new and strange" a question ; and 
there will be plenty of opportunities — one at least there 
will certainly be, on the second reading, for your " po- 
tent word." 

I will endeavour to consult your convenience in fixing 
the day. 

Shall I add your name to the Committee for pre- 
paring the Bill? I will, unless you forbid me before 
four o'clock. But now I must address myself to sleep 
again, for another hour or tw^o, and so good by. Pray 
do not work yourself to death. 

Ever sincerely and affectionately yours, 

George X^anning, 
23* 



270 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A SON. 

Ampton, Sunday, September 29, 1822. 

My dearest -, 

The event itself had been stated to us by Lord 
Calthorpe on our arrival yesterday evening, but without 
any other particulars. I have but very little time at 
my command to-day, compared with what I could gladly 
employ, and therefore I can use my pen even less than 
my weak eyes would allow me. But I must send back 
a few lines in return for your kind and affecting letter ; 
and though, as you remark, you might be sure I should 
specially remember you all in my prayers this day, yet 
it is a pleasure to myself to assure you that I have been 
pouring them forth for you, and imploring that this 
striking visitation may produce on you the blessed 
effects, which I doubt not divine goodness designs that 
it should operate. We ought always on such occasions 
to be jealous of ourselves, bearing in mind the deceit- 
fulness of our own hearts, and the consequent danger 
of our deriving no permanent benefit from emotions of 
which we at first conceive the effects will last for ever. 
Let us endeavour then to render the effect permanent, 
by some practical change. For instance ; it would be 
an excellent one to commence, if you think there is any 
room for it, an improvement in the management of your 
private devotions. No one can here judge for another, 
because the right conduct may depend on bodily tem- 
perament, or on domestic circumstances ; but if we have 
seen reason to believe that our private prayers have 
been at all hurried or discomposed, or their warmth or 
fervour damped by their being put off to too late an 
hour at night, or by our not having time enough in the 
morning, let us correct the defect at such a season, with 
earnest prayers for a blessing on it from Heaven. O, 

my dear , all I have to say may be expressed in 

three words — be in earnest. I cannot but hope that a 
gracious God is guiding you, and He appears hitherto 
to have been drawing you by the cords of love. O 
may you yield to this soft compulsion ! Compel not 



271 

your heavenly Father (if I may humbly presume to use 
such an expression,) compel Him not to use a harsher 
discipHne. I think you must be sensible that your 
natural temper or habits dispose you to relish solitude 
less than is commonly desirable ; but above all things, 
see to it that your private devotions are not stinted or 
damped. I vi^ish you would read over, (why not with 

?) Bickersteth's excellent treatise on prayer. Even 

at my age, I thought I received advantage from it — 
especially some of the parts in which he treats of the 
danger and evils of distraction in prayer, and of the best 
methods of guarding against them. 

I have naturally been led into saying what I thought 
might be most useful to you, but you will anticipate, 
I doubt not, many of the reflections which this affect- 
ing incident enforces on my mind. I am suddenly 
told that I must immediately make up my letter, which 
I had understood was not to go till night. I can only 
therefore say once more, may God pour out His best 
blessings on you and yours; may He support poor 

under this most heavy, and, except for the 

general uncertainty of life, most unexpected blow. For 
who that witnessed the extraordinary exertions which 
our departed friend was capable of making, and appa- 
rently without injury, could have supposed he would so 
soon break down. Never could it be more truly affirmed 
of any man than of him, that he died in the service — 
and m the service of a better Master than any which 
the world contains. How little could it have been ex- 
pected, that of him and myself I should be the survivor ! 
But I must break off. Once more then, farewell ! May 
our heavenly Father bless you all. 
1 am,- 

Ever most affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERTOROE. 



272 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed : " Dear Stephen on anniversary of my dear sister's death. — 
Most affectionate and pious. — A true picture of his mind.") 

Missenden, October 18, 1822. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

Where time is inexhaustible, they have probably 
no measure for its course ; and were it otherwise, the 
inhabitants of heaven would hardly mark their eras by 
the revolutions of our little globe. If they did, this 
would perhaps be a festive day with them, as the birth- 
day of an illustrious spirit ; for there are gradations of 
rank in heaven. One star differeth from another star 
in glory — and if love, humility, piety and patience, are 

paths to the peerage there, my dear 's patent was 

secure. Dignities on earth would have ill suited her 
taste ; but superior rank in heaven, where there is no 
envy and no pride, will attract only superior love, attest 
superior excellence, and confer superior joy. 

I should be a selfish creature, indeed, to remember 
the event, six years old, of to-day with a discontented or 
repining spirit. The common sentiment, " I would not 
call her back if I could," is far too cold for me. I would 
give one of my limbs, ay, my life itself if necessary, to 
rescue her from the miserable change. But you are no 
stranger to my feelings on this subject ; you also partake 
of them. Yet so invincible are the prejudices arising 
from custom, or so embarrassing the consciousness of 
singularity, that even with you it is much easier for me 
to write, than to speak or act my true feelings on the 
recollection of my dear 's flight, 

" An upward flight, if ever soul ascended ;" 

and experience has proved to me, that the day of com- 
memorating her, whether the anniversary of her blessed 
change, or of her birth, or of our marriage, is most 
pleasantly and decorously, and satisfactorily, spent in 
solitude. To-day I have the comfort of spending it in 
our woods and commons, and in a day as bright as 



273 

midsummer. I grow daily more and more in love with 
this place. O what a delicious oratory is a beech 
wood in a calm hot day ! Not a leaf stirring ; not a 
sound; a sacred kind of shady light, with here and 
there a straggling sunbeam, like the gleam of provi- 
dential direction in the dark concerns of life. I do not 
doubt that the druidical influence arose from the wor- 
ship in woods. It must have been irresistibly imposing ; 
it is plain, too, that the Gothic cathedral is an imitation 
of these solemn natural aisles. I really pity you at 
Harden Park : though fine enough in its way, it is not 
in the right way ; besides, there you stand alone : all 
the ornaments are made for your single self; and then, 
they are made. And you have clumps on barren hills, 
instead of luxuriant hill tops and sides, and riant val- 
leys, and sweet upland though smooth and level com- 
mons ; and lovely cottages of the true peasant breed, 
and a village and church, and endless varieties of walks, 
&c. But do not suppose that I boast of these things 
merely to tantahze you. I live in hopes that you will 
now and then, ay, and not rarely, partake of them ; for 
I know that they would be quite to your taste. In that 
view, I have the better reconciled my conscience to 
some enlargement of Healthy Hill cottage beyond my 
original plan, though the making room for my grand- 
children was also an object. 

I have so contrived my little cottage, with no small 
cred^it to my architectural talents, that it will hold not 
only you but your tail. Mind, however, I do not mean 
your political tail, nor your religious tail, nor even 
your African tail, either of which is twice as long as 
M'Gregor's ; none of your hangers on, but your do- 
mestic tail merely. To entice you I have provided all 
the conveniences I think that you want, and among 
them a veranda across the front of the house, like your 
own at Kensington Gore, where you may have a walk 
of thirty-five feet, warm even at Christmas, for it has a 
south-west aspect, and is shut up by the body of the 
house and projecting wings from the wind, in every 
other quarter ; in this respect it is superior to that of 



274 

Kensington Gore, the ends of which were uncovered. 
And then, the riant beautiful prospect before it ! The 
air ! — Here emphatic silence must assist me, till you 
behold and breathe it. 

Now whether all this will attract you, I don't know; 
but if it will not, let me know ; for there is a weighty 
question at present between my gardener here and me, 
which you may help me to decide, viz. whether I shall 
have a gravel walk or only a turf one, of 400 feet length 
or more in front of my paddock. The gravel is far off, 
and therefore will be costly ; but then it would suit you 
best in moist weather ; and I would defy the whole king- 
dom to produce a terrace with prospects equally various 
and beautiful. 

You see, my dear W., I am not only building houses, 
but castles; and building them too in a land my dear 

has forsaken. Yet can I truly say, that these 

things do not make me forget Stoke Newington church- 
yard, nor rival in my heart the prospects beyond it. 
I am rather jealous of being thought by strangers an old 
dotard, that is planning for his long continuance in a 
world from which he is likely to be soon called. 

(Then (adds Mr. W.) he beautifully declares how 
much better is the portion he looks for, &c. &c. There 
were then private matters in another sheet, which he 
desired me to burn.) 



RT. HON. G. CANNING TO WM. WILBERFORCE. ESQ. 

Gloucester Lodge, October 24, 1822. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I now send you the Portuguese note — I should 
rather say the note to the Governor of Portugal — upon 
the' Brazilian slave trade, which after the declaration 
of independence by Brazil, Portugal has no right to 
carry on. 

I expect every day an application from Brazil for the 
acknowledgment of that independence. Shall we be 
justified in making the Abolition of the slave trade by 



275 

Brazil a sine qua non condition of any such acknow- 
ledgment? I incline to think so. But there are immense 
British interests engaged in the trade with Brazil, and 
we must proceed with caution and good heed; and take 
the commercial as well as moral feehngs of the country 
with us. I say enough, however, to show you the lean- 
ing, — the strong bias of my opinion. 

1 have no objection to your communicating with 
those whom you mention, verbally, when you come to - 
town. I confess I would rather that you did not cor- 
respond upon the matter at present, particularly as all 
my colleagues are away, and know less than you do. 
There is no hurry, as what remains to be done on 
different points must be done by us ; and with Spain, or 
Brazil, or France alone, rather than at Verona. 
Ever, my dear Wilberforce, 

Most sincerely yours, 

Geo. Canning. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO A DAUGHTER. 

Elmdon House, near Coventry, December 5, 1822. 



My dear 



Though, from the questions I have heard buzzing 
around me for a few days of " Was not the 6th Httle 

W 's birth day?" I suspect you would not remain 

without a congratulation on the anniversary of that 
event, which, through God's blessing, raised me to the 
dignified station of a grandfather, were I to be silent ; 
yet I cannot feel comfortable without assuring you of 
the thankfulness with which I look backward on being 
reminded by the recurrence of this day of such an 
addition to my domestic comforts, and look forward to 
the gradual developement of the bodily and mental 
faculties of this dear grandchild. The future is indeed 
uncertain as to the particular events which may take 
place, but not uncertain, blessed be God, as to their 
nature and colour, if we take due pains to improve the 
means of grace which the divine goodness has afforded 



276 

us; for we are assured that all things shall work to- 
gether for good to them that love God. It may happen 
that this dear boy may hereafter in the senate watch 
over the matured growth of some institutions of which 
a certain grandfather, long ago laid in the grave, had 
superintended the tender and infant shoots; planting 
also in his turn some young saplings which his grand- 
child may hereafter behold in their full beauty of foliage 
and exuberance of fruit; or possibly, what I should 
much rather covet, he may hereafter enforce from the 
pulpit those blessed truths which both his paternal and 
maternal grandfather had inculcated in their day ; and 
oh may it be added ! which his own father and mother 
had so happily exempHfied. You may remember that 
in China the stream of honour flows in the opposite 
direction to that which it takes in our European coun- 
tries — I mean men ennoble backwards. They reflect 
their honour on their progenitors. Both modes have in 
them something of truth and nature ; and while to be 
the child of a distinguished parent cannot but be a 
credit to any one, so, to be the parent of a distinguished 
child, every father's, and much more every mother's 
feelings will pronounce to be at once an honour and a 
dehght; one of the greatest, as it is surely one of the 
purest, delights that our nature can enjoy in this world 
of sin and sorrow. This fund of pleasure, you must 
remember, is eminently in your keeping, and oh may 
God grant that it may have a gradual and an abundant 
increase ! But I forget that I have letters to write to- 
day of a far less grateful kind, to correspondents with 
whom I have far less disposition to communicate ; I 
must therefore say farewell. Give the dear little fellow 
an additional kiss in the name of his old grandfather, 

and believe me- , with constant prayers for your 

best interests, your truly aflectionate 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



277 
WxU WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO SIR T. D. ACLAND, BART. 

The Temple, near Leicester, December 13, 1822. 

My dear Sir T., 

Had not the complaint in my eyes been a con- 
tinual hinderance to my writing, my want of leisure 
would not have prevented my long ago inquiring how 
you were going on. But the sentiments I had to pen 
to you could not properly be communicated through 
the medium of an amanuensis, my common resource. 
I therefore have remained silent. But you have often 
been in my mind, the more so in consequence of some 
desponding words which dropped from you one day 
towards the end of the session. I should have been very 
unfeeling if they had not affected me, and deeply too. 
And let me avail myself of my privilege, as having 
now passed my grand climacteric, to pour forth to you 
with freedom, I can truly call it friendly freedom, some 
of the reflections which you called forth. 

Alas ! my dear Sir Thomas, I can well understand the 
feelings of a warm-hearted man, who, entering into life 
sanguine and ardent, full of right aims and benevolent 
tendencies, compares some years after what he has 
actually eflfected with the hopes he had once indulged. 
And I can but too well conceive how natural it is for 
him in such circumstances to be ready to give up in 
despair all his previous projects, and to sit down in 
despondency, or retire to the frivolities of taste and 
fancy, till conscience rouses him into renewed efficiency. 
But besides that in such a humour a man greatly under- 
values the worth of his actual performances, and you 
for instance the value of an independent course in the 
House of Commons of the member, qualis sis, of one of 
the first counties in England, we are all apt to forget 
that, after all, my dear friend, our chief business is at 
home. I need not apologize to you for speaking seri- 
ously — it would be worse than affectation — therefore 
(to pursue the train of thought I was entering on), 
though it is doubtless our duty, in the highest sense, to 
improve to the utmost of our power the opportunities of 

VOL. II. 24 



278 

doing good to others, which a gracious Providence has 
granted to us, yet our grand object, our uhimate end, 
should be to form in ourselves that character u'hich is 
to fit us for a higher state of existence in a better world 
(I need not surely guard against being supposed to mean, 
that we are not all along to bear in mind that all our 
efficiency and success in this great work are to be de- 
rived from higher influences). Now this, blessed be 
God, is a cultivation which in one part of it or another 
may be carrying on continually, and will not depend on 
the result of our plans of usefulness to others. For 
instance, that very sickening feel, if I may so term it, 
with which you may be now disposed to contemplate 
your parliamentary efforts, may itself be moderating 
expectations that were too sanguine, may be loosening 
the hold which this world had upon you, and teaching 
you habitually to be looking above and beyond it, and 
may be enforcing on you the useful lesson not to expect 
much justice from man, but to accustom yourself to live 
under the constant sense of the divine presence, and 
with the continual desire of the divine favour. You, 
however, are still a young man, and only strengthen, or 
rather temper and put in order the various parts of your 
intellectual and moral machinery, and lay in also a 
copious assortment of raw materials of all sorts, and I 
doubt not but that, humanly speaking (I mean reasoning 
according to the ordinary probabilities of life), you, 
D. v., will live to work them up into many fabrics use- 
ful and esteemed amongst men. Meanwhile, do on the 
day the duties of the day, and consider how very few 
there are in this whole world, or what is more, ever 
have been, who have so much to be thankful for as 
yourself. That there are so many who value and love 
you I doubt not you account among the greatest subjects 
for gratitude. You see I am slyly preparing an addi- 
tional motive for your receiving kindly the letter with 
which I am now troubling you, for I can assure you it 
is the unambiguous fruit of esteem and affection. That 
a gracious Providence may continue to shower on you 
its choicest blessings, rendering you a blessing to others. 



279 

and honoured and happy in yourself, is the cordial wish, 
and shall I not add prayer? of him who (begging his 
kind remembrances to Lady Acland and any others he 
knows within the circle, Barker for instance, or Mar- 
riott,) subscribes himself, my dear Sir Thomas, 
Your sincere old friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

If you write to me, my best direction is always 
London. 

I have neither time nor eyesight to read over what I 
have scribbled, if there are mistakes, 'parce precor. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO J. STEPHEN, ESQ. 

December 27, 1822. 

My dear Stephen, 

If you lament your decayed faculties, and your 
present drowsihood, (as Thomson terms it,) how much 
more cause have I for such lamentations ! I say it 
sincerely and seriously. Yet still what I can do I ought 
to do. But the complaint in my eyes is a sad hinder- 
ance to me in recovering lost ideas and facts. Now in 
filling my mind with them, and in warming and ani- 
mating me, you would, I doubt not, do me great good. 
And I am one of those substances, like sealing-wax and 
other electric bodies, which require to be warmed in 
order to possess the faculty of attracting objects, of 
covering and clothing itself with them. I cannot sparkle 
at all without being rubbed, and this would be effected 
by your conversation and speechifying. Yet I perhaps 
can revive the old impressions by meditation and look- 
ing at papers. Formerly I had several friends who 
assisted me to look out for intelligence. Burgh, Dickson, 
and others. Pitt used to call them my " white ne- 
groes." 

Farewell, my dear friend, olim hsec meminisse 
juvabit. I hope you do not shut yourself up the 



280 

whole day. Your mind cannot preserve its tone, if 
your body is unnerved and sluggish. May God, who 
has inspired you with the love of justice and naercy, 
and the abhorrence of oppression, prosper your labours 
for the promotion of the one and the suppression of the 
other. 

With kind remembrances to your friendly circle, 
both in your own house and out of it, I am 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE LADY OLIVIA SPARROW. 

Harden Park, Jan. 22, 1823. 

My dear Friend, 

I trust you give me credit for thinking of you 
much more frequently than I write. Such is the effect 
of the standing impediments to my being a good cor- 
respondent, arising from the complaint in my eyes, and 
from the necessary claims on them which must be ad- 
mitted while I have any eyesight at all, that I seem to 
myself to fall into arrears with all my friends, and yet 
to be always writing up to the full of my powers. And 
while I can at all use my own pen, it is very disagreea- 
ble to write by an amanuensis ; it is as bad as talking to 
a friend through an interpreter. 

But do not abstain from writing in order to spare 
my eyes. The letters I receive from friends bear a 
less proportion to my whole number, than the salt I 
consume to the food it seasons ; and the epistolary, I 
assure you, is far more grateful than the culinary sea- 
soning. So believe me, your letters are even the more 
welcome when I am overdone by the multitude of less 
acceptable correspondents. 

You kindly ask after my domestic circle. Of myself 
I thank God I can give a very good account in point of 
health, hitherto ; just now I am not quite so well, but 
not I trust materially otherwise. But if you ask me 
how I have improved the long interval of uninterrupted 



281 

health which I have enjoyed since the beginning of our 
last recess, I am quite shocked at the answer I feel 
myself compelled to return. I know not how it is, I 
really have never meant to be idle, yet I can find no 
results from my occupation. I am now only beginning 
an undertaking which ought by this time to have been 
finished. It is a Manifesto on the present state of the 
negro slaves in our Trans-Atlantic colonies, calling on 
all good men (ay, and women too, so you are not to 
be left out) to concur with me in endeavouring to im- 
prove their condition, in order to fit them for the en- 
joyment of liberty. Really when I consider the heathen- 
ish state in which these poor creatures have been suffered 
to remain for two hundred years, wearing out their 
strength in a far more rigorous than Egyptian bondage 
to a Christian nation ; pity, anger, indignation, shame, 
create quite a tumult in my breast, and I feel myself to 
be criminal for having remained silent so long, and not 
having sooner proclaimed the wrongs of the negro 
slaves, and the injustice and oppression of our country- 
men. Not but that I unaffectedly feel for those who 
inherit property of this sort. And it is one of my many 
subjects for gratitude that this is not my situation. But 
I am glad to say that I really believe, if the masters will 
act reasonably, their loss need not be at all considerable, 
and they will possess their property by a secure, instead 
of as now, by a most precarious tenure. But let what 
I am about be a secret, I beg of you, till I tell you that 
there is no more cause for silence. 

We have taken a house in St. James's Place, for the 
ensuing session. Shall you not be in town occasionally? 
Farewell, my dear friend. With best wishes and sin- 
cere prayers for your happiness here and hereafter, 
I am ever affectionately yours, 

W, WlLBERFORCE. 



24* 



282 
WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE REV. HENRY VENN. 

St. James's Place, Tuesday evening, 
March 12, 1823. 

My dear friend, 

It strikes me, on reflection, that Doddridge^s 
Eight Sermons on Regeneration, and Witherspoon's 
Essay on Regeneration, would be better for the friend 
we conferred about than any other publication that 
occurs to me. He seems to want a deeper sense of a 
work to be wrought on the human heart by the power 
of God, and to be wrought by Him alone, as the apostle 
ascribes that ardent desire of going to heaven, which is 
one of the effects of the indwelling Spirit, to the power 
and workmanship of God — " now He that hath wrought 
us for the self-same thing is God :" and by the way, con- 
sult Pole's Synopsis for a note on- wrought, xarep/atfofxsvo^, 
expolivit. 

Were he to have a just sense of the greatness of the 
change to be effected, and if he would study and con- 
sider the fair import of those passages, which speak of 
the union between Christ and believers, in St. John, vi. 
XV. (the vine), &c. and the xviith, the three or four 
verses following, " neither pray I for these alone," &c. ; 
and if he would then compare these passages with St. 
PauPs prayers for his Christian disciples, in Eph. first 
and third chapters, and in Philipp. I. and Coloss. I., he 
would become sensible how much more there is than 
he has hitherto conceived in being a true Christian — 
and this leading him to detect the scantiness of his own 
attainments, and discovering to him the earnestness with 
which he has been applying his faculties to earthly in- 
terests and objects, and how little he has been duly 
endeavouring to obtain those large communications of 
the Holy Spirit, which, professing to believe the Scrip- 
ture, he must admit that he might have obtained (for 
He is faithful that hath promised) ; all this, accompanied 
with earnest prayer, would lead to that deep remorse, 
that brokenness of heart, which would make him wel- 
come the Saviour as his deliverer from the power no 



283 

less than from the punishment of sin, and look to Him 
for wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and 
redemption. Let him consider the addresess to the seven 
churches, and see how our Lord enforces on them the 
right affections of the heart — I have always found people 
more easily brought to see their sinful ingratitude to God 
and the Redeemer than any other fault — and then let 
our friend consider how (Rom. i.) God is represented 
as giving the Gentiles up to their own lusts, because they 
were not thankful for the comparatively trifling blessings 
they knew of. 

May God bless you, my dear Sir, and your Christian 
efforts. 

Get our friend to prayer, and all will be well. I un- 
derstand that charming daughter, who lives with him, is 
truly pious. Let her pray for him too, and I am san- 
guine in hopes all will be well. I should like him to read 
the account of Dr. Bateman's conversion. 
Farewell, and believe me ever. 

With every good wish, my dear Sir, 
Your sincere and affectionate friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



HON. GEORGE CANNING, TO W. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ.* 

(Private and most confidential.) 

Gloucester Lodge, April 30, 1823. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have received your note, and in the same con- 
fidence in which it was written, I venture to say to you, 

* When the conduct of ministers upon the French invasion of the 
Peninsula was the subject of angry censure, he was in the House, and 
took in great measure their part. " All history shows us," he concluded, 
" that wars are popular in their commencement and pernicious in their 
course. In my conscience I believe that the intentions of the govern- 
mcnt were fair and honest, and I applaud their pacific language, though 
I could wish they had assumed a higher moral tone." — April 28. The 
debate was twice adjourned, and as he did not wish to vote upon the 
question, he would have staid away on the succeeding nights, but an 
urgent note from Mr. Canning again brought him to the House for the 
conclusion of the matter. 



284 

(for yourself alone,) that you have not unduly estimated 
the difficulties of my situation. 

But surely, surely in that case I have the stronger 
claim upon your justice. I am upon my trial to-day. 
Come and hear me ! I had rather that you should " hear 
and vote," than that you should stay away, and leave 
your authority doubtful. 

What you said about the tone of the papers is quite 
misunderstood. I understand it ; but I know others do 
not. I must refer to what you said ; and I had a thou- 
sand times rather do so in your presence. But, if you 
mean to be just, you will be there. 

Ever sincerely yours, 

Geo. Canning. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS. 

He thus conveys to one of his sons, who had left town 
reluctantly before a debate on the subject of West India 
Slavery, his judgment of its issue. 

London, May 17, 1823. 

My very dear -, 

Now that the day is over, you will experience, if 
I may judge from my own feelings, no little pleasure 
from having practised a virtuous act of self-denial. 
You are rewarded also in another way ; for the debate 
was by no means so interesting as we expected. Bux- 
ton's opening speech was not so good as his openings 
have been before. His reply however, though short, 
was, not sweet indeed, but excellent. I was myself 
placed in very embarrassing circumstances from having 
at once, and without consultation, to decide on Mr. Can- 
ning's offers. I thank God, I judged rightly that it would 
not be wise to press for more on that night. On the 
whole, we have done, I trust, good service, by getting 
Mr. Canning pledged to certain important reforms. I 
should speak of our gain in still stronger terms, but for 
Canning's chief friend being a West Indian — a very gen- 



285 

tlemanly and humane man, but by no means free from 
the prejudices of his caste. 

I just recollect that this will reach you on a Sunday; 
allow me therefore to repeat my emphatical valediction, 
REMEMBER. You will be in my heart and prayers 
to-morrow, and probably we shall be celebrating about 
the same time the memorial of our blessed Lord's suf- 
ferings. 

May God bless you, my beloved . The anniver- 
saries which have passed, remind me of the rapid flight 
of time. My course must be nearly run ; though per- 
haps it may please God, who has hitherto caused good- 
ness and mercy to follow me all my days, to allow me 
to see my dear sons entered upon the exercise of their 
several professions, if they are several. But how glad 
shall I be, if they all can conscientiously enter into 
the ministry, the most useful and honourable of all 

human employments ! Farewell, my beloved . I 

am ever 

Most affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

London, July 14, 1823. 

My dear Friend, 

I am always overdone with business at the close 
of a session ; and added to all my public occupations, 
we have been fixing ; and bringing all my books, 
pamphlets, papers, &c. the accumulated stores of a 
whole life, into a habitation not previously fitted for re- 
ceiving them. Marden Park was in one of the most 
beautiful countries eye ever beheld ; but we were near 
three miles from church; we had no sheltered walk 
near the house, &c. And when people attain the grand 
climacteric, unless they be of antediluvian strength, they 
are compelled to make convenience the prime consid- 
eration in selecting a residence. Comforts become ne- 
cessaries. 



286 

You have doubtless heard of the prevailing fashion 
of resorting to the conventicle to hear Dr. Chalmers's 
late assistant, Mr. Irving. It is not naerely the opposi- 
tion members of both Houses, Lord Lansdown, Mackin- 
tosh, &c. that attend him ; their political nonconformity 
might be supposed to endear to them his ecclesiastical 
dissent; but the orthodox Lord Liverpool, the vindicator 
of existing institutions Mr. Canning, press into his meet- 
ing-house ; and even with tickets you must be at the 
door an hour before service commences, if you wish to 
get in without losing one of your coat pockets by mere 
mobbing. I have not yet been to hear him. Indeed I 
did not think it quite good example to adopt the prevail- 
ing rage. It is hterally true (I was told by one who 
was present,) that an opera frequenter related as a part 
of the green room's conversation of the last Saturday 
night, " Shall you go to Irving's to-morrow V It is 
with no little pleasure I have heard that he is a man not 
only of extraordinary powers, (though even once hear- 
ing" him speak at one of our anniversary meetings satis- 
fied me that he sadly needs the chastening hand of a 
sound classical education,) but of orthodox principles 
and personal piety, and I am assured too, of a fine, dis- 
interested spirit. I thought that you would like to re- 
ceive some certain intelligence of this extraordinary 
" performer," for such, with all his merits, he now ap- 
pears. 

May God preserve and bless you. So wishes, and 
so prays, 

Your sincere Friend, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE TO WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ.* 

My dear Friend, 

For the peerless northern star, Irving, I allow 
that he is a man of talents, — but — but he is as bad a 

* In answer to his letter of July 14, 1823. 



287 

writer as " ere my conversation coped withal." He writes 
like one of the old Covenanters in zeal, but oh, where 
is the clear but deep sense, the pellucid perspicuity of 
Baxter and of Howe? His censure of his brethren for 
confining their sermons to certain texts, and overlook- 
ing the rest of the Scriptures, and making the Bible a 
kind of party book, I was much pleased with. You will 
perhaps blame me for saying I shrink from many parts 
of the " Argument." That boldly prying into the awful 
mysteries of judgment over which the Bible has drawn 
such an impenetrable veil, I read with more pain than 
profit. I almost tremble at his familiar acquaintance 
with the details of the great Judge. It brought to my 
mind some lines, which I wrote in my copy-book at 
eight years old. I have never thought of them since. I 
know not who wrote them. Les voici — 

" Query was made, What did Jehovah do 
Before the world its first foundations knew ? 
The answer was, He made a hell for such 
As were too curious, and would know too much." 

You will think me severe, but I write as I feel. 

I hope all your young ones are flourishing like the 
green bay tree. My best regards to all. Your eyes I 
am afraid will suflfer from this interrupted and ill-written 
scrawl. As I was scribbling, the servant came up in a 
hurry to tell me that there was a coach at the door 
with eight Arabians. I was a little puzzled till these 
Arabs proved to be eight Moravians, no formidable race. 
These. holy sisters made me a kind visit. 

Adieu, my dear friend. Do not forget to commiCnd 
me to God, and to the word of his grace. 

Ever very truly and affectionately yours, 

H. More. 



888 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS AT 

COLLEGE. 

Yoxall Lodge, Nov. 30, 1823. 

My dear , 

I enclose you the halves of the bank notes ; the 
remaining halves shall follow. Always, I repeat it my 

dear , open your heart to me without reserve on 

this as on any other subject. There is a vile and base 
sentiment current among men of the world, that if you 
wish to preserve a friend, you must guard against 
having any pecuniary transactions with him ; but it is 
a caution altogether unworthy of a Christian bosom. It 
is bottomed on the supposed superior value of money to 
every other object, and in a very low estimate of human 
friendship. I hope I do not undervalue money, but I prize 
time at a far higher rate, and I have no fear that any 
money transactions can ever lessen the mutual confi- 
dence and affection which subsists between us. 

As to dear 's approaching trial, I am much less 

anxious about the result than might be expected, con- 
sidering my warm affection for him and the value I set 
on learning ; but I am satisfied because I am sure he 
has been employing his time well. There is often in 
the result of public examinations much of what w^e im- 
properly call chance ; giving it that name because we 
cannot assign the facts to any known causes. But 

• 's mind may be easy so jfar as I am concerned, 

though I certainly should rejoice in his success. 

It is late, and my eyes give indication that it is time 
for me to stop ; so I will only say, may God bless you 
both. I am now in the house at which for many years 
I used to pass several weeks, sometimes months, in my 
bachelor state, and it affects me deeply to be now cor- 
responding with four sons, one of them a husband and 
a father, and two of them at college. So life passes 

away. May you, my dearest , be ever aware of 

the rapid flight of time, and of the uncertainty of life, 
that whenever the summons shall be issued, you may 
be found ready. Farewell. 

Ever your most affectionate Father, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



289 

RT. HON. G. CANNING TO W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Gloucester Lodge, January 4, 1824. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I have communicated your letter of Friday to 
Lord Liverpool and to Robinson. 

They are strongly of opinion that the setting apart a 
specific sum for the purpose of eventual compensation 
to the West Indians, and that sum one obviously inade- 
quate (as it must be) to any thing like the amount of 
compensation, if any shall be found due, v^^ould have 
only the effect of committing parliament to the prin- 
ciple, without defining either the case in which it would 
be applicable, or the extent to which it would be to be 
applied. 

The West Indians in their resolutions of last year 
recorded their admission that no promise had been 
made to them of compensation, though undoubtedly it 
had been thrown out in debate that if a case of positive 
pecuniary injury could be made out, the suffering ought 
to be borne by the community at large, not by any 
class of it. This, however, is a very different thing from 
buying ameliorations, and might be, and probably would 
be, executable in a different way from that of direct 
payment of money to individual planters. 

If a shop for such payments is once opened, there 
will be no want of customers ; for what West Indian 
now would not part with his estate at half or one fourth 
of its value ? 

Barham, you know, wanted us to buy all the West 
Indies. 

Ever, my dear Wilberforce, 

Very sincerely yours, 

Geo. Canning. 

VOL. II. 25 



290 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. HANNAH MORE. 

Suffolk, Jan. 8, 1824. 

My dear Friend, 

The string you touched in your last truly kind 
letter has been vibrating ever since, and making music 
most delightful to a parent's mental ear ; an organ not 
commonly noticed, but which is full as much in daily 
exercise as the mind's eye, of which we speak so fa- 
miliarly. As I believe my dear son's greatest pleasure 
from his academical success has arisen out of that which 
he sees his mother and I have received from it, so my 
greatest gratification has been from the cordial congra- 
tulations of kind friends, and not one of them I can 
truly say has given me such sober certainty of waking 
bliss, as your letter and its enclosure. 

I do not think I thanked you for your former highly 
entertaining letter, in which you manifested that your 
critical powers are in no degree " dulled." I had formed 
the same estimate of Irving's book ; and I must say I 
never was more agreeably disappointed than by the two 
sermons I heard from him : and, by the way, let me 
state that I would not go when all the town was flock- 
ing around him, as they had done to Master Betty, or 
Mr. Kean, nor till I had been assured by a very sensible 
inhabitant of Glasgow, who had watched him there for 
three or four years, that he was a truly good man and 
active pastor, particularly attentive to the poor. I can- 
not conceive a more attentive audience than he had for 
a full hour and a half j and his language (free from all 
the afl^ectation and bombast which his " Orations" and 
" Argument" exhibit) was remarkably and even felici- 
tously forcible and impressive. I am not so self-con- 
ceited as to suppose that his knowing I was to be 
present, which he did, could dispose him to be more 
chaste and reasonable than in his printed discourses, but 
he might have learned from some of the critiques that 
had been published, that his style would not take. I 
own I think he cannot be a scholar ; no classical taste 
could have borne his turgid affectation. But as you 



291 

truly say, it is faulty not merely in point of style. But 
I have expended on him much more of my little stock 
of eyesight than I meant ; and I must not forget to tell 
you of the fresh proofs I have received during my sum- 
mer's peregrinations, of the greatly improved state of 
society in this country since I came into life, and of the 
hopeful promises of future good, which this moral ad- 
vancement holds out to us. Everywhere schools ; and 
schools in which religious instruction is attended to — I 
met fresh traces, my dear friend, of the blessed effects 
of your writings. 

As for John Bull, I can truly say that I am full as 
callous as I ought to be to the calumnies of party bitter- 
ness. The Barmouth story of my helping to set up an 
irregular church service, and forsaking that of the 
parish, was not only not conformable to truth, but opposite 
to it. But this justification must be to you superfluous. 
I am indignant, however, to hear that the vile falsehoods 
circulated against our dear, excellent Macaulay, have 
obtained credit in some circles in which one would have 
hoped there would been more of the spirit of English 
justice, if not of Christian charity, than to suffer people 
to give credence to unproved assertions to the discredit 
of a man who had preserved the good opinion for twenty- 
five years of a number of respectable friends, who had 
witnessed his conduct in domestic and social life. If 
any thing can make the people of this country submit 
to a censorship of the press, it will be this cannibal 
malignity in the devouring private characters. The 
false judgments of our character and conduct that are 
sometimes formed even by good men, often endear to 
me the idea of that blessed world where, at least, justice 
shall be done us, and where I trust many will embrace 
each other with mutual love, who are here scowling at 
each other, as Dr. Chalmers would say, with jealous 
defiance. 

But I must lay down my pen, which I have used for 
some time almost without looking at it. Your eyes will 
be taxed I fear to spare my own. — Farewell, my dear 
friend, may Heaven's best blessings be abundantly 
poured forth on you. Lady Olivia Sparrow is here; 



292 

spealdng of her son-in-law in very gratifying terms. 
Simeon just gone ; better than usual. Here is a large 
house, collecting from all quarters. You are not for- 
gotten by any of us. My dear wife and children, if 
they knew of my writing, would send the assurance of 
their respect and attachment. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WlLBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS AT 
COLLEGE. 



My very dear , 

I trust I scarcely need assure you that you are 
much and often in the thoughts of all of us — indeed, it 
would indicate a want of common affection if the very 
circumstances of your present situation and the cause of 
your banishment were not to be continually bringing 
your image before us with emotions and associations of 
more than common tenderness, and so they do, my very 
dear boy, making you in idea, if not in person, a party 
to our daily rambles. I think I feel about you espe- 
cially on a Sunday, when my mind always runs out 
more particularly on my dear children, and when you 
must yourself feel in a peculiar degree the want of do- 
mestic soothing. Yet I own I hope that on a Sunday 
you will endeavour to avoid company, and guard with 
the greatest care against whatever might tend to draw 
the mind and feelings downwards, and to clog them, if 
I may use Milton's language, 

" With the rank vapour of this sin-worn mould." 

I must say that, on the ground of my own expe- 
rience, I believe there is a special blessing vouchsafed 
to the keeping of that day devoted to spiritual pur- 
poses, including, of course, in them such methods of 
employing the mind and affections as may cultivate a 
spirit of love, compassion, beneficence, &c. towards our 



293 

fellow-creatures. Some of the happiest days of my life 
have been spent at inns where I have halted for the 
Sunday wherever I found myself on the Saturday night. 
I never shall forget one Sunday, in particular, when 
Babington and I were fellow-travellers in a tour 
through Wales. He speaks of it as well as myself with 
feelings of lively gratitude and tenderness. There 
cannot be a more proper season than the Sunday for 
endeavouring to cultivate a spirit of Christian peace and 
joy in believing. I have found it useful to keep by me 
on paper short memoranda of the chief mercies and 
blessings of my life, and likewise of the chief causes for 
humiUation and self-reproach. I am sure I need not 
suggest to you how the consideration of each serves to 
enhance and quicken the other. In truth, no one had 
ever perhaps so much (none more) cause as myself to 
adopt the Psalmist's declaration, a httle altered, that 
" goodness and mercy have followed me all my days."' 
And when I say this, I cannot but be forcibly impressed 
with the consciousness that one of my chief mercies has 
been the having such affectionate children. 

A visit has been suggested to us which would bring 
us within an afternoon's ride of Oxford. In that case I 
trust you would spend a Sunday with us. I quite desi- 
derate you, and shall still more when I arrive at home, 
than now when we are visiting different friends. We 
have been highly gratified by finding religion establish- 
ing itself more and more widely. I am sorry you 
cannot be here. I have just been over a lunatic asylum 
with above one hundred patients, a most striking scene. 
There was nothing to shock, no hurry, no apparent 
anxiety. I went round with the surgeon superintendent, 
and there was no unpleasant emotion in the face of a 
single individual on his accosting them. Farewell, my 

very dear . May every blessing be your portion 

through time and in eternity ! 

Yours ever, 

W. WlLBERFORCE, 

25* 



294 

JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Master's Office, March 24, 1824. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I cannot see you on Saturday, having been, 
unavoidably almost, drawn in to engage to meet Dr. 
Gaskin at Stoke Newington. I went there on Tuesday 
to visit the remains of my beloved and very excellent 
mother on the fiftieth anniversary of her birth-day into 
heaven ; and was childish enough to scatter flowers on 
the tomb by way of jubilee, as I was to be followed in 
the visit by some others of her descendants that day. 
In some points I am more than half a Roman Catholic ; 
and perhaps Dr. G. will think me a whole one. But 
really the recollection of my dear mother's saint-like 
and triumphant end, and the wonderful manner in 
which Providence has during fifty years answered her 
prayers for her children, has much by which even a 
Protestant may be edified. I revived the scenes half a 
century gone by with all the vivid freshness of yester- 
day's events : the sun was remarkably brilliant, as on 
that memorable morning, and reminded me forcibly of 
a feeling I have repeatedly had in such cases, viz. a 
sadness from his cheering beams. Well wrote Addison, 
" The daylight and the sun grow painful to me ;" but it 
gave the reverse of sadness now, and 1 returned to my 
tread-mill with gayer spirits from my Stoke Newington 
walk. It was odd that I met there, in the morning, 
much against my purpose, three who knew me, com- 
prising two, the only friends out of the family now living, 
that knew my dear mother. I called to leave a card at 
the old Doctor's door, having seen him last in great 
affliction for the loss of his wife, and thinking it right to 
ask for his health; but I was in a manner forced to go 
in, and there found those friends with him, to their great 
surprise and mine. 

When I called on the sexton, a female one, to assist 
me in what I wished at the tomb, I found that my name 
would not do to direct her to it ; and when I described 



295 

it she said, " Oh, sir, that tomb is Mr. Wilberforce's." I 
afterwards found the Doctor apparently of the same opi- 
nion ; at least he was surprised when I brought to his 
recollection that a mother of my own had, fifty years 
ago, been laid in that spot, and given me the desire, as 
well as the customary right, to purchase and appropriate 
the ground I had since sunk a vault in. 

I am neither mortified nor ill-pleased that you, my 
dear W., should cast me, living and dead, into the shade ; 
and am quite content it should be said hereafter, not that 
you were laid in my vault, but I in yours, provided it 
does not happen from your going first. 

With love to Mrs. W. 
Ever very aflfectionately yours, 

J. S. 



J. S. HARFORD, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Bangor, October 18, 1824. 

My dear Friend, 

At Milford, as we were on the point of embark- 
ing for Ireland, I was greeted by your most interesting 
and welcome letter. The animation which it breathed, 
and the firmness of the writing, confirmed the delightful 
assurance which it gave me, that you were restored to 
your ordinary standard of health ; and oh ! may it please 
God to vouchsafe you a long freedom from the painful 
attacks which have lately caused your friends so much 
anxiety. You were most kind in not deeming my sug- 
gestions about the expediency of allowing yourself a few 
years of comparative respite from public life trouble- 
some. I w^ell know that your vigorous mind reasons on 
the principle of 

" Nil aclum reputans dum quid superesset agendum." 

But two such severe illnesses as you have endured within 
a few months painfully demonstrate that the body is not 



' 296 

equal to the demands of the mind, but calls for relaxation 
from over-anxiety, and oppressive care. One thing, at 
least, I trust you will be prevailed upon to determine, 
and that is very much to narrow^ the sphere of your 
labours, and not allow worthy but inconsiderate men to 
force too much work upon you. 

We paid a most interesting visit at Belle-vue. Twelve 
years had elapsed since our former visit ; but so deep 
was the impression made both on Louisa and me by the 
kindness we then experienced, that we flew to meet 
every member of the family as old friends, and as united 
to us by the bond of Christian affection ; and we met, 
on their side, with corresponding feelings. Dear amiable 
Mr. Latouche bends beneath the weight of ninety-one 
years ; but, considering his great age, he is a wonderful 
man, being in full possession of his faculties, and replete 
with attention to all around him. There is in his de- 
meanour a benignity, a meekness, and a courtesy which 
attract to him in return inexpressible tenderness and 
respect. He was generally the first at prayers in the 
chapel every morning. Of the chapel at Belle-vue you 
have doubtless heard. It is connected with the house 
by a long glazed walk planted on each side with exotics 
and flowering plants. It is built on a very elegant de- 
sign, and is well adapted to its object. The girls of 
Mrs. Latouche's school, which is in the park, attend the 
chapel regularly, and open the service by singing a 
psalm or hymn ; and being carefully instructed for this 
purpose, their singing is truly beautiful, and imparts a 
peculiar interest to the family devotion. Mrs. Latouche 
is the very image of benevolence — she is ready at all 
times to make any sacrifice of time or attention for the 
good of her fellow-creatures. Her exertions in this way 
are unwearied. The poor in the neighbourhood have 
had reason to bless Belle-vue and its inmates for the last 
twenty years. But Mrs. L. is not merely kind and 
charitable, she is so with discrimination : every thing is 
done in a large and liberal way ; but the spirit of order 
and system animates the whole machinery of her house- 



297 

hold. Mr. Latouche gives employment, in the house 
and out of it, to upwards of eighty persons. 

Miss , their niece, and, I might add, their adopted 

daughter, is a very interesting person, and a great bless- 
ing to them : when I was last here she was a little girl. 
Great pains have been taken with her education, and the 
result has been most successful. Religion has taken 
deep root in her heart, and she is highly accomplished. 

I spent many delightful hours in Mr. Knox's room. 
His mind is as exuberant of bright ideas, and as active 
as ever. I call him the Plato of the house. He really 
is a man of a highly sublimated intellect, and piety is 
the element of his being. I could not agree with him in 
all his opinions ; but he has much advanced in liberal 
and kind feelings towards those who differ from him ; 
and when he vouchsafes to be simple, and to explain 
himself accurately, he makes near approaches in his 
views of the doctrines of grace to ourselves. His senti- 
ments upon internal rehgion, and on the happiness to be 
tasted in a devout life, are worthy of the character I 
have assigned him, of the Christian Plato. He declines 
talking in the general circle upon the Roman Catholic 
question ; and his views respecting it are thus far modi- 
fied, that, though retaining all his former opinions, and 
believing that every new concession would be attended 
with happy consequences, he fears the time is past at 
which they would prove beneficial in the degree he once 
anticipated. 



JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
(Most private and confidential.) 

October 19, 1824. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

You have heard from me in general that I have 
long been a disappointed applicant to the Lord Chancellor 
for certain official reforms which I deem indispensably 
necessary, to secure not only an impartial distribution of 



298 

references among the Masters, but in connection with it, 
what is far more important, purity and impartiality in 
the discharge of the very delicate and momentous public 
duties of the Masters and their clerks. Three or four 
years have elapsed since these reforms were promised 
by his Lordship. I had on the last of my conferences 
with him an express renewal of this promise, and of its 
being carried into effect, as I understood him, before he 
closed his sittings for the present vacation ; but he might 
possibly mean that it should be before the commence- 
ment of the next Chancery term, which is now at hand, 
the First Seal being fixed for November 1st. - May I not 
again be disappointed ! If I am, it will become my pain- 
ful duty to state the case to the Chancery Commissioners 
very soon after they renew their sittings, and to seek a 
remedy from them ; or, through their report, from higher 
authority. But I may possibly fail even in that resort. 
There is another, which, in that case, I should perhaps 
feel myself bound in conscience to try ; viz. an application 
to the House of Commons, unless the Commissioners in 
an early report should disclose the full merits of the case, 
without recommending the specific remedy proposed by 
me ; in which case it will be enough for my justification 
that the case is made known to Parliament. 

But there is another possible event : I may be called 
to give an account of my stewardship before either ter- 
mination of this business ; and I feel it at length a duty 
to make some insurance against the possible consequence 
of such an event, the final failure of the proposed reform, 
from the non-discovery to the Commissioners and to 
Parliament of all the facts of the case, and especially 
some of a delicate kind that rest in my own knowledge. 
To prevent this, I now make it my request to you, that 
if I should die before that reform is effected, you will 
take proper measures for bringing either before the 
Commissioners or before Parhament, whichever you 
deem most proper, or before them in the first instance, 
and Parham.ent, if necessary, afterwards, the informa- 
tion to which 1 allude. 

Such part of it as is of a public nature, or not entirely 



_ 299 

private, is already reduced into writing ; and a copy of 
it, sealed up and addressed to you, will be found among 
my papers designed for posthumous use, as will a state- 
ment of those private facts within my own knowledge, 
of which I have yet to make a record for this purpose. 

To make the compliance with this request at once 
easier to your own feelings, and more influential with 
others in its effect, you have my permission, and even 
my request, that it may be done expressly in discharge 
of a duty of friendship, which I, in contemplation of 
death, imposed on you for the ease of my own con- 
science ; and I think it will be better if you will enable 
yourself to add, that you at my request had bound your- 
self by promise to do so. 

You may, however, if the case arises, and Lord Eldon 
is still Chancellor, put it in his Lordship's power, if you 
think fit, to relieve you from that duty, by making, 
without delay, that remedial Order of Court which he 
stood pledged for to me in my lifetime. 
I am, my dear Wilberforce, 

Ever very affectionately yours, 

James Stephen^. 

P. S. Pray seal this up, and write on the cover, " To 
be delivered, unopened, to Mr. Stephen, if he survives 
me." 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. 

(Private and confidential.) 

Bath, October 20, 1824. 

My dear Stephen, 

I willingly promise compliance with the request 
contained in your letter just received of the 19th inst., 
in the very improbable event of my surviving you ; and, 
in truth, I make the engagement the more cheerfully, 
because, should I be living and you withdrawn from 
this world, before the abuses in the Office of Masters in 



300 

Chancery are amended, I should feel it due to your 
character, and therefore an obligation of friendship, to 
make it known, 1st, That you had been using your ut- 
most endeavours to have the abuses corrected, so as 
to secure to the public the benefit without obtaining 
any credit for yourself; and, 2dly, That you did not 
allow yourself to profit from the official abuses while 
they did continue. It is not merely for the sake of 
your own reputation that I shall wish this truth to be 
made known, but because they who profess to act from 
religious principles are not always sufficiently exact in 
discharging beyond others (for our Saviour's question to 
his disciples w^as, "What do you more than others?') 
the moral and political duties of life. 

I have sealed up your letter, and written on it, to be 
delivered to you, in the event of my death, unopened. 
Farewell. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



MRS. H. MORE TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Barley Wood, Christmas Day. 

My dear Friend, 

May you have all the consolations, and blessings 
of this auspicious season ! 

Although somewhat improved in health, (not so in 
sleep,) since I had the great delight of seeing you and 
dear Mrs. W., yet as the continued inflammation in my 
hand still prevents me from holding a pen, I am obliged 
to write with that of my friend Miss Frowd. And first 
of all, I must thank Mrs. Wilberforce for her very kind 
letter : I am glad it has been in my power to afford her 
so much pleasure, by the surrender of my treasure.* 

Forgive me, my dearest friend, if I press upon you a 
subject very near my heart, which is to entreat you to 
consider the unspeakable importance of your own health 

* A print of Mr. Wilberforce, which Mrs. W. desired might be be- 
queathed to her. 



301 

and life to your family, your country, and to religion, 
and therefore to spare yourself as much as possible the 
fatigue and danger of applying too much to public and 
political concerns. 

But there is a subject (if possible) of a still more in- 
teresting, as well as a more durable, nature — I mean the 
ardent wish, which I in common with all your friends 
have long indulged, that you should devote all your 
leisure hours to the preparing a memoir of your own 
life and times. This, done as you would do it, would be 
a treasure of inestimable value, not only to your own 
children and contemporaries, but to posterity. It is no 
compliment to say, that few persons, if any, have been 
so distinguished as yourself both in the political and re- 
ligious world — a union very rare, and almost new. 

When I planted the barren hill above my house, 
■which I did twenty-four years ago, and partly with my 
own hands, I was too much delighted with the employ- 
ment, and compared myself with Jeroboam, who wor- 
shipped in groves and in high places — I now complete 
the resemblance, for, like Jeroboam, I have a withered 
hand. 

My kind love to Mrs. Wilberforce and all the do- 
mestic party, particularly my dear god-daughter. It is 
a comfort to you, that you will only have to hear this 
letter read, and not to answer it — as it requires none. 
Forget not to pray for 

Your faithful and affectionate Friend, 

(the sign of) Hannah More. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS. 

Elmdon House, September 17, 1825. 



My dearest , 

There are many friends, or rather acquaintances, 
to whom I should naturally introduce you, if I were 
myself at York, but to whom I could scarcely give you 
letters, circumstanced as you and they are at the present 
meeting. I do not think I ever talked about this same 

VOL. II. 26 



302 

musical festival, but I assure you I could not help feeling 
a certain longing to be present. Never was I more 
affected by music than even by the common service in 
the Minster. But I did not think I ought to incur the 
expense for such a gratification : so many enjoyments 
and comforts are profusely poured on me, that I may 
well be satisfied without paying so dear for an additional 
pleasure, though I own I think music and the taste for 
it are given to us for the very purpose of exciting the 
devotional feelings ; and I always regret that in such 
performances as the Messiah, the attendant circum- 
stances are so sadly calculated to damp and dissipate 
those spiritual affections, which the music of itself is 
fitted to call forth. How, beyond measure more, I 
have always thought should I enjoy it, if I were in a 
situation in which I could hear it all without being seen, 
or being obliged to chat, and express my admiration of 
this song, or of that chorus. But when music is per- 
formed in a cathedral, we shouM endeavour to compose 
the mind, to recollect ourselves, and strive to fancy we 
are listening to the sound 

" Symphonious often thousand harps that tune 
Angelic harmonies, the empyrean 
Ringing with hallelujahs." 

I was called away yesterday, before I had finished 
my letter, and I have resumed my pen to-day (Sunday), 
and therefore I must make the remainder of my letter 
suitable to the day. And I know not how I can do it 
better, than by mentioning to you, what I intended 
saying before we parted, but neglected — I mean that, 
on reflection, I was not satisfied with the general strain 
of our conversation on the Sunday, when we were all 
together. And as my dear children, to do them justice, 
are apt to take the tone from me, I fear I have been 
chiefly in fauh. May the Lord forgive me! I am per- 
suaded we should make it a chief part of our Sunday's 
occupation to cultivate a spiritual frame of mind, to 
confirm and strengthen our sense of the reality of in- 



303 

visible things. It is a great acquirement to be able to 
realize the unseen world ; more especially before we 
engage in prayer we should endeavour to feel ourselves 
in the presence of our God and Saviour. I find my 
striving to do this especially eflfectual in producing a 
sense both of contrition and of awe, and of gratitude 
and confiding hope. And here let me remark, that I 
am persuaded, we are all sadly wanting to ourselves 
in not striving more to obtain spiritual joy. Oh we 
do not live up to our Christian state and privileges. If 
we examine the Acts of the Apostles and St. Paul's 
Epistles, we shall find how much Christian joy is spoken 
of as belonging naturally to real Christians. My very 

dear , do you strive, I beseeh you, after this blessed 

affection, and be assured you may obtain it, if you duly 
strive. But my eyes are tired — I must go to prayer, 

where my dear will occupy a special place in my 

heart. Oh may my very dear son be carried safely 
through the ordeal through which he is now passing, 
and may he exhibit the life and character, and enjoy 
the hope and peace and joy of a Christian. I should 
never have done, if I were to go on till I had exhausted 
all the affectionate emotions which press for expression: 
I will absolutely close, begging you to present my kind 
remembrances, and the assurance of my best wishes for 
the health and happiness of Sir Charles and his family, 
and entreating you to keep me in your heart, as your 
most affectionate father, 

W. WiLBERrORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. 

Beckenham, February 8, 1826. 

My dear Friend, 

lo triumphel or rather let us praise God who 
thus appears at last to bless our progress. I am strongly 
reminded of the remark of that kind, related I think by 
Clarendon, that it really seems our own fault that the 
popular voice was not before clamorous in our favour. 



304 

But no — " There is a tide in the affairs of men," &c. 
&c. ; and let us now, while it is thus favourable, push 
on with becoming zeal and diligence. If all were to be 
about half as industrious as you, (I speak literally, for in 
common parlance I should say a twentieth part,) we 
really should make a greater advance in this very ses- 
sion than I had ventured to anticipate. I should not be 
honest were I not to confess that I am conscious of a 
longing to have a share in the melees but, I dare say, it 
is better as it is. No man has more cause than myself 
(few so much) to say, " Goodness and mercy have follow- 
ed me all my days." I hope, and, indeed, from what 
Lushington said to me on the day of the meeting, 1 
doubt not, he will make good his case in the affair of 
Lecesne and D'Escoffery, and I am the more prepared 
for this issue by the account of his speech of last year, 
which, I presume, by your kind order, was lately sent 
to me; otherwise I was a little uneasy, from having 
found that the printed parliamentary papers had pro- 
duced an impression unfavourable to the poor fellows in 
the mind of a very worthy and pious friend into whose 
hands I had put the papers. 

But I am doing very wrong in thus wasting your 
time and my own eyesight, for which, alas 1 I have far 
more demands than I can satisfy; I must, however, ex- 
press the great pleasure it gives me to find Mr. Smith's 
benevolent and honest mind and sound understanding 
borne away in the right direction. As to the Ladies' 
Society, I ov^n I feel considerably uncomfortable about 
it, and, by the way, Babington thinks of it much as 
I do. Nevertheless, as it might appear strange if Mrs. 
W.'s name were not included, she consents to your 
putting it down, remembering that she resides in the 
country, and therefore cannot be expected to attend 
meetings. It is to the political character of the subject 
that my repugnance chiefly applies ; to their mixing in 
stirring up petitions otherwise than by private discourse 
and hoc genus omne. There is not the same necessity 
for my daughter's name, and therefore I don't like to 
press her to give it. But they are come for my letter. 



305 

and it will be too late for the post if not made up imme- 
diately; so farewell, and thank you again for all your 
kindness. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



W. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO HENRY BROUGHAM, ESQ. 
(now LORD BROUGHAM). 

Kensington Gore, March 28, 1826. 

My dear Sir, 

J am persuaded that the deep interest you take 
in the success of our great cause would of itself render 
unnecessary any apology for my stating to you, frankly, 
the apprehensions I cannot but entertain of the effect of 
what has lately passed in the House of Commons relative 
to it. It is not, I assure you with perfect sincerity, that 
I do not consider your judgment superior to my own, 
but sometimes a bystander is better qualified to take a 
just view of the state of the case than those who are 
actually playing the game. If my surmise is well 
grounded, it is to your consideration without doubt that 
I ought to submit it. I am glad, knowing the value of 
your time, that my trespass on it need not be long. 

The sum of my fears is this : that a sufficiently clear 
and strong protest has not been made against the course 
which Mr. Canning still pursues, of trusting that the 
colonial assemblies may at length be brought to co- 
operate cordially in our views and measures for ameho- 
rating the condition, with a view to the ultimate eman- 
cipation, of the slaves. It is not, doubtless, that I do not 
think with you that if the masters would really co- 
operate with us in good earnest, the practical execution 
of our design need but be left to the masters themselves; 
but when we consider that, with scarcely perhaps a 
single exception, they all consider emancipation as only 
another term for ruin, how can we possibly expect, with 
any colour of reason, that they will cordially co-operate 
with us in giving effect to measures which we frankly 

26* 



306 

avow to have emancipation for their end ? I confess I 
have long thought, and indeed have often declared, that 
this is the point on which, practically speaking, the 
whole business turns ; and I am the more uneasy now, 
because some hints that have dropped from different 
parties have suggested to my mind the probability that 
the planters, instead of persevering in their present ab- 
solute resistance to our measures, will assent to some of 
them in words, but with the real intention of evading the 
execution of them. They whose acquaintance with 
this w^hole subject is, in common parlance, but of yester- 
day, can scarcely have an adequate idea of the degree 
of hostility to all our plans which is generally felt in the 
West Indies. But you who, though not quite such a 
veteran as myself, have yet been so long conversant 
with the subject as to be familiar with all the proceed- 
ings respecting it that have taken place in Parliament 
within the last thirty years must, I am persuaded, think 
as I do on this important point. More especially a 
strong argument in confirmation of our views is afforded 
by the result of Mr. C. Ellis's address in 1796-1797. 
The address, you will remember, passed the House of 
Commons unanimously, though by us hopelessly, and in 
secret, growlingly. It was backed by the unanimous 
support of the whole West India body in this country, 
and was transmitted to the several governors by the 
Duke of Portland, a known partisan of their own, and 
was enforced on them by a private letter from Sir Wil- 
liam Young, intimating the strong apprehensions enter- 
tained by the most discerning friends of their cause, that 
unless they should conciliate the House of Commons by 
some amelioration of measures, several of which were 
suggested, the law for abolishing the slave trade would 
infallibly pass. Yet not a single colony adopted a single 
tittle of Mr. C. Ellis's proposals. Can any one then be- 
lieve that they who would not adopt any of those mea- 
sures at the instance of their friends, when they were 
thereby to obtain what they conceived to be the greatest 
benefit, will now adopt them to please their enemies, to 



307 

insure what they all regard as synonymous with certain 
destruction ? 

I have been insensibly led into wasting your time and 
my own by urging these arguments. But even disin- 
terested men in general, though for the most part wishing 
well to our cause, are not sufficiently aware that the whole 
really turns on our taking it upon ourselves to insure the 
execution of the ameliorating measures, and our not 
leaving the office to the colonial assemblies. The com- 
plaint in my eyes, which prevents my reading the news7 
papers, keeps me very imperfectly acquainted with their 
imperfect reports. Perhaps it may be owing, in some 
degree, to this cause, that I fear we appear to have ac- 
quiesced too much in Mr. Canning's plan of proceeding; 
and I cannot but feel the deepest anxiety that, when 
Parliament reassembles, you should ascertain whether 
or not there is any ground for my alarm, and if there 
be, that you would make such a plain declaration of 
your opinions as will draw on our other friends to do the 
same. We never again shall have so favourable a junc- 
ture ; the public feeling in our favour being now at its 
height, and the House of Commons looking forward to 
a speedy appearance before its constituents. 

W. WiLBERFORCB. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MRS. H. MORE. 

Bath, May 11, 1826. 

My dear Friend, 

Of all places actual, I had almost said of all 
places possible, Bath is the worst for me ; considered as 
to the power it affords me of corresponding with my 
absent friends. But I will reserve till we meet the ex- 
planation of this position, only reminding you of the 
complaint in my eyes, and of the peculiarity attending 
it, that it is much the worst for the first five or six hours 
alter my rising in the morning; so that I cannot use my 
pen at all till the inundation of visiters has broken in, 



308 

or if a rainy day should lessen it, till the duty of drink- 
ing the water, and taking a requisite measure of exercise 
during and after it, calls me to the pump-room. But 
for these and other insuperable hinderances, you would 
have heard from me much sooner, the rather because I 
have experienced even in you, (to be honest, and to treat 
you with the frankness of friendship, when I am sure I 
feel its warmth,) that let those from whom I may wish 
to receive letters know ever so well the cause of their 
not hearing from me, yet they will never do more thaii 
give me letter for letter, and sometimes (and even here 
you I fear cannot plead Not goilty) they will even pro- 
vokingly apologize for the length of their letters, when 
they do write, or assign the weakness of my eyes as the 
cause of their not having written sooner. The expendi- 
ture of eyesight in reading a single letter, especially one 
of yours, (since you no more incur that peccadillo crimi- 
nality by writing than by speaking, which I have heard 
you justly charge on some of our friends, of speaking in 
so low a voice as to be almost inaudible,) is so trifling 
compared with the pleasure I receive from the perusal, 
that lajeu vaut Men la chandelle. 

Thursday evening. Thus far I had proceeded, when 
I was forced to lay down my pen and proceed to the 
pump-room, and thence to the ordinary drudgery of 
visiting and card leaving, followed to-day however by 
a walk on the top of Lansdown, whence the gorgeous 
display of rural beauties on the first bursting out of all 
the varieties of spring vegetation is truly magnificent. 
I have since, however, had my eyes regaled with an 
object that has given me still more pleasure. Though it 
is really curious that, at the very time when I was 
charging you in my last page with having sometimes 
provoked me by assigning kind consideration for my 
eyes or time as the cause of your silence, and more in 
the same spirit, you were renewing the offence, for you 
begin your letter by congratulating me in some sort for 
having escaped for weeks the receipt of a letter from 
you. But, my dear friend, most sincerely do I congra- 
tulate you on being enabled still to go on with unabated 



309 

alacrity as well as vigour, in supplying the wants of 
your own populous circle, while through the world at 
large you are continually diffusing fresh light and heat. 
I remember having always been delighted by a passage 
in Johnson's preface to Shakspeare, in which he defends 
the tragi-comedies of Shakspeare. I can truly say my 
feeling for the poor Shipham people is not less deep be- 
cause I could not help laughing outright (ay, and re- 
peatedly too,) at the pigs' meat in the close of your letter. 
Indeed it cheered Mrs. W. with a hearty laugh. But I 
must lay down my pen in a few minutes ; let me there- 
fore immediately execute the purpose for which I ori- 
ginally took it up, to inquire whether it would suit you 
better to see us in about twelve days, or in about three 
weeks, or a few days less. I should like to be at least 
One entire day under your roof, if it would not put you 
to inconvenience ; but be honest with me, and be assured 
I never can misconstrue you, or doubt your kindness. 
Now for your poor neighbours — I really feel it kind in 
you to apply to me. You have not allowed me for 
several years to contribute any part of my quota, for 
such it ought to be accounted, and I consider myself 
your debtor to that amount. I wish I could make the 
note for 10/. that I enclose one for 100/., but my four 
sons press heavy on me. You ask about Ogilvie's 
letter: few communications ever gave me half so much 
pleasure : I have carried it about with me ever since I 
received it from you, and now have it in my writing- 
box. I hear continually, blessed be God, of the good 
done by your last publication. There was light and 
heat in the dispersed effluxes (if I may so term them), 
but, brought together and concentrated, the effect seems 
increased beyond all expectation. 

Ever yours, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



310 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. 

Brampton, July 27, 1826. 

My dear Friend, 

Lord C. and I read over No. 14 of the Anti- 
Slavery Monthly Reporter, and were both of us pleased 
with it ; indeed there are some parts of which we highly 
approve: such, for instance, as the appeal to Mr. Can- 
ning for the different way in which the petitions would 
have been described, had they been in favour of CathoHc 
emancipation. But there are some particulars in which 
we concur in wishing for alterations. Lord C. disrelishes 
the boasting of such numerous petitions, but I believe 
on the whole, that it was right to mention them, and to 
vindicate them from the charges that had been falsely 
urged against them. We both, however, think that it 
would be better not to speak of the ladies' Anti-Slavery 
Associations for discouraging the use of slave-grown 
sugar. 

Again, we think, and from a knowledge of Mr. Can- 
ning's character I cannot but believe the consideration 
of great importance, that more use should be made of 
the shameful misrepresentation which Mr. C. was un- 
consciously led into making to the House of Commons. 
Generally speaking, no man is more accurate in his 
facts, no man takes more pains to insure accuracy. 
What confidence can Mr. C. justly place in future in 
official men who could so grossly mislead him, and 
render him the instrument of misleading the House of 
Commons. It is difficult to suppose that any one who 
had examined the official papers could unintentionally 
fall into such gross errors. In short, this occasion should 
be used for the purpose of leading Mr. Canning to dis- 
trust the source whence he derived that information. 

My eyes having been very indifferent, I dictated the 
above, but let me use my own pen in assuring you that 
I am duly sensible of the unfairness of pressing so heavily 
on you. Yet you are the only efficient member of our 
body who possesses at once the requisite knowledge and 
ability for refuting the sophistries and contradicting 



311 

the misstatements of our adversaries. I might hope to 
do something but for the want of eyes, though I must 
say I am sadly forgetful now, especially of recent inci- 
dents ; and what is more, I cannot make the same use 
of passages I notice in books that are read to me as if I 
had read them with my own eyes, and could know them 
at a glance. 

I have met with Cymric Williams's book here. It is 
manifestly, d, fa^on de parler, a tour written in England. 
Farewell. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MISS MARY BIRD. 

Harapstead, August 26, 1826. 

My dear M., 

Your nephew's death is indeed a most affecting 
incident. Your letter reached me only four or five 
days ago, and conveyed to me the first tidings of it. 
It is exactly of the same class as that of Sir Stamford 
Raffles, who had scarcely cast anchor for life in a quiet 
and most commodious harbour, after having been all 
his days experiencing the dangers of shipwreck, of 
pestilence, of fire, &c. &c., than his poor wife's not 
unreasonable hope of enjoying with him a tranquil calm 
during the evening of life (the calm sweetened by the 
former buffetings) was dashed to the ground, and, when 
better than usual, all at once he receives his summons 
into eternity. I heard with extreme pleasure that papers 
of his writing were found that indicated a consciousness 
that he might be thus suddenly called away. 

I had poor R.'s letter read over to me again after I 
heard of his death. How affecting it is to think of 
our officers not attending the ordinances of religion, 
or rather not having the means of attending if they 
would, for fourteen years together. Yet his letter shows 
the benefit of early religious instruction. Instead of 
casting off respect for Christianity, he retains his early 



812 

belief of its divine authority ; and though late, " comes 
to himself," and reads the Scriptures. May God have 
had mercy on him ! He is merciful and gracious, and 

kindly considers our disadvantages I scarcely need 

tell you that I am scribbling away as fast as possible, 
that I may spend the less eyesight in proportion to what 
shall be written. But it is an assurance deliberately 
formed, I assure you, however hastily put on paper, 
that though you have lost one of your natural friends, 
and lost him under the most affecting circumstances, 
yet that you still have in myself one of the friends of 
your youth, who doubts not that the cordial esteem and 
regard he has long entertained for you will cease only 
with his life. Neither of us, however, can look forward 
to a long continuance of our term in this world. Indeed, 
"when it is considered that near forty years ago the 
great Dr. Warren declared, that my want of stamina 
was such that I could scarcely last a fortnight, it is 
wonderful that I should have completed my sixty-seventh 
year. May I be enabled to employ the remainder of 
life more to the glory of God than the last few years 
ofit! 

Farewell, my dear M. May our heavenly Father 
support and cheer you, and may we at length meet in 
that better world in which sin and sorrow^ will be no' 
more ! 

Ever your sincere and affectionate friend, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 

Private. Just let me add, that I trust you are com- 
fortably provided as to pecuniary circumstances ; and 
that you remember, if there should be need for it, that 
I am your natural resort, as your near relative and 
like-minded friend. 



313 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS. 

Feb. 19, 1827. 



My very dear 



It quite cheers me to hear that we are Ukely to 
see you so soon ; though in all such cases I rejoice with 
trembling. Mr. Leslie Forster, M. P. for Louth county, 
who has been staying here, was at Fife House by ap- 
pointment on Saturday, when a servant came into the 
room where he was waiting, and told him that Lord 
Liverpool could not be seen that day. The newspapers 
will probably state that having been remarkably well, 
he was suddenly seized by apoplexy or palsy, (found on 
the floor, his countenance convulsed, and he insensible,) 
so that his political life must be at an end. I fear Can- 
ning also is more seriously indisposed than I had hoped. 
It always affects me deeply, when either from advancing 
years, or sudden illness, this world appears to be slip- 
ping out of the grasp of an eminent public man, who 
(we have reason to fear) has been making too little pre- 
paration for his entrance into another. Lord Liverpool, 
I trust, had serious thoughts. I well remember the for- 
mer Lady Liverpool's telUng me at the PaviHon, many 
years ago, that she and Lord Liverpool used to contend, 
each for the favourite of each, Pascal or Fenelon ; and 
Pascal is an author who has many " pregnant proposi- 
tions," as Lord Bacon calls them. — I must stop. 
Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO THE REV. LEWIS WAY. 

Elmdon House, near Solihull, Warwickshire, 
May 31, 1827. 

My dear Friend, 

Again, and again, and again, I have been think- 
ing of writing to you, but a complaint in my eyes, that 
has become habitual, and which allows me to use my 

VOL. II. 27 



314 

pen but very little compared with the many claims on 
it, and to read still less, is a standing hinderance, and, 
except when I have some necessary call to address a 
friend, a sense of duty prompts me to abstain from so 
doing. When I have any business to transact with him, 
my amanuensis is at hand, but a mere reciprocation of 
affection, as the learned Doctor would have termed it, 
shrinks from the formality of dictation. But when my 
dear S., who is on the point of visiting Paris on his way 
into Switzerland, asked me if, besides commissioning 
him to give you assurances of my warm affection, I 
would not make him the bearer of a letter also, I could 
not say. No. O how I wish I were accompanying him. 
My dear friend, I hear with unfeigned and great plea- 
sure that you are receiving continual proofs thai it is 
Providence that has shaped your course to Paris and 
detained you there. It is manifest to any reflecting mind, 
that in your person and circumstances there are coinci- 
dences that can scarcely be ever expected to unite, and 
all tending to render you peculiarly fitted to be useful in 
your present situation. Your being a gentleman, a man 

of fortune, and even your genius, and but I will not 

particularzie, that I may not seem to flatter, and there- 
fore I will only say, your tout ensemble, appears to mani- 
fest to any of your friends, who must naturally disrelish 
the idea of your abstraction from your native country, 
that were the dramatis personce to be cast for a set of 
performers, Lewis Way would by acclamation be ap- 
pointed to the post assigned to him. I have but one 
doubt, of which you must be a better judge than I am, 
for I can speak only on general grounds, and I only 
name it that I may be honest, and not leave you igno- 
rant of an apprehension which suggests itself to my 
mind — it is, whether the place and its inhabitants are 
likely to be such as you would wish for your children. 
And on this I am sure you will both reflect yourself, and 
request the counsel of any Christian friend who is quali- 
fied to be of your cabinet on such an occasion. For it 
is not every good man that would be quite competent to 
such an office. This is all whispered into your private 



315 

ear in the full confidence of friendship. And now, my 
dear friend, my eyes admonish me to lay down my pen, 
and I must obey. Let me first, however, beg you to 
present assurances of my affectionate regard to Mrs. 
Way and Co. May you be blessed, if it be the will of 
God, with a long course of usefuhiess and comfort, to 
be followed by a still better portion in a better world ! 
Such is the cordial wish, and, D. V., shall be the prayer 
of, 

My dear Way, 
Your sincere and affectionate friend, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 

p. S. Pray be kind to dear S., and his fellow-traveller 
Mr. Anderson also, the eldest son of the old baronet of 
the name. Only talk to S. in French. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO HENRY BANKES, ESQ. 

Highwood Hill, Middlesex, November 19, 1827. 
My dear Bankes, 

I thought I should have welcomed any incident 
that gave me an occasion for writing to you. But the 
newspaper has just now informed me of poor Tomline's 
death chez vous. I had lately heard from common 
rumour that he had been attacked by some dangerous 
disease, but the same account stated that his life was in 
no present danger, though there might be reason to fear 
for his intellect. There has been scarcely any inter- 
course between the bishop and myself for many years, 
though when we met we conversed with our old famili- 
arity. But to you confidentially I will own that I never 
could forgive his never proposing prayer to our poor 
friend Pitt (how much forgotten in a few short years) 
till within about six hours before his dissolution : and I 
cannot but fear the effect of the bishop's language and 
conduct towards him was to suggest the persuasion that 
he (the bishop) was not dissatisfied with his state in the 
most important of all relations — a persuasion fairly to be 



316 

gathered from the dedication of the bishop's book on 
Christian Theology (I mean the two vokimes of Ele- 
ments published in 1798). Still I cannot hear without 
emotion of the death of a man with whom we associated 
on such friendly terms in early life, and who never did 
any thing to offend me personally, though his general 
goings on were such as to give me real concern. I 
know not a man in England of whose attaining to an 
extreme old age one might be so justly confident, and 
the account of his illness and now of his decease coming 
on me so suddenly, I am naturally the more struck with 
it. Had he been long ill ? Had he his faculties during 
his illness ? I presume from his dying under your roof, 
the distance from Farnham not being great, that he had 
not recovered from his first seizure. But to a less pain- 
ful topic. I hope you are yourself as well as when I 
saw you last, and I quite rejoice to know that your dis- 
ease is not of a more dangerous nature, or of one that 
produces more suffering. I am the more sensible on this 
head, from what has lately happened to a very old and 

highly-valued friend of mine 

I know not whether you may remember that in March 
last you suggested (what I own surprised me) Robinson's 
appointment to the premiership. What an unexpected 
dramatis pe?'soncB have we now on the stage ! I hope Lord 
Eldon enjoys his liberty : he has worked so very hard, 
that though not fresh from the harness the feelings of 
Virgil's horse may very naturally be his own. I meant 
to tell you about my own tour, strange to say the first 
tour of pleasure I had taken in Yorkshire almost in my 
life, certainly for thirty years, but to save the post I 
must break off. Tell me how you are yourself, and as 
much else as you will, both personally and de republica. 
If any of the family are with you, I beg my best remem- 
brances, and I am ever, my dear Bankes, 

Very sincerely yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



317 , 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO 

Highwood Hill, Middlesex, November 28, 1827. 

My dear Sir, 

I am unaffectedly sorry for having subjected you 
to the obhgation of using your pen when, from the state 
of your heahh, you could not write without suffering. 

I am now conscious that I suffered myself too easily 
to presume that you must be sufficiently acquainted 
with the case of Mr. Macaulay. Let me begin by 
assuring you, from an intimate knowledge of Mr. 
Macaulay of between thirty and forty years, that he is 
a man of very superior talents, and both as a public 
and private man of no less worth ; indeed I believe 
him to be a real Christian. Being one of a large 
family, the children of a clergyman in the west of Scot- 
land, he was sent out early in life to the West Indies, 
and from our high estimate of his character and talents, 
our late friend Mr. Henry Thornton, who was then at 
the head of the Sierra Leone Company, . . a society 
formed for the improvement of Africa, and as a refuge 
for a number of negro slaves whom the British govern- 
ment had encouraged to leave their masters during the 
American revolutionary war, . . sent for him from Ja- 
maica, that he might occupy some respectable station 
in the new colony. . . . Let me remind you, in a paren- 
thesis, that when the colony was formed we believed 
(on Mr. Pitt's authority) that there was a strong proba- 
bility of a twenty years' continuance of peace, and Par- 
hament had then given us reason to believe the slave 
trade should be immediately abolished. Had these con- 
fident expectations been reaHzed, the fate of the colony 
would have been very difi^erent ; and perhaps the only 
fault was, its not being dissolved when the French war 
broke out, and Parliament flinched from its decision as 
to the slave trade, though I know not how we could 
have dissolved it consistently with the safety of the 
colonists whom government had already brought there. 

Mr. Macaulay on coming to England was for some 
time domesticated with Mr. H. Thornton, who thought so 

27* 



318 

highly of him as to propose that he should be appointed 
governor of Sierra Leone, as he soon after was, with 
the universal approbation of the directors. In this num- 
ber were then, Lord Teignmouth, Mr. Charles Grant, 
Granville Sharp, I think Mr. Elliot (Pitt's brother-in- 
law,) myself, and several other public men. While 
there, Mr. Macaulay acted so as to obtain our utmost 
confidence and approbation, being sometimes placed in 
circumstances of extreme difficulty and danger ; and 
when he returned, he brought with him a number of the 
young natives whom he had kept in his own house while 
in Africa, superintending their education. From the 
opportunity he had possessed of acquiring information 
concerning the state of the slaves in the West Indies, 
and of the slave trade, of the character of the natives, 
&c. in Africa, he naturally became a sort of primum 
mobile in our African and West Indian system ; and 
though soon after marrying, with the prospect, gradually 
realized, of a large family, with impaired health, and 
having little or no property, and therefore looking for 
his family support to a mercantile business in which he 
engaged, he was, nevertheless, always most profuse in 
giving freely his time and money too, as well as his 
extraordinary talents and experience, to the support of 
the common cause. In such a world as this, it was but 
too natural that he should become a butt for the shafts 
of party calumny and malice ; and I am sorry to say, 
that the efforts made to injure his character, though 
by the grossest falsehoods, were for a time but too suc- 
cessful. The newspapers which espoused the cause of 
the West Indians, who have paid very liberally for sup- 
port, were peculiarly forward in diffiising these calum- 
nies ; and after sustaining much abuse, Mr. Macaulay 
was at length advised by his friends to institute a prose- 
cution. This being of course resisted by all the arts of 
dilatoriness with which the law abounds, more especially 
by assertions concerning Mr. Macaulay's conduct in the 
West Indies thirty years before, the truth or falsehood 
of which charges could only be ascertained on the spot, 
the suit is not even yet completely ended, but the ex- 



319 

penses have already amounted to more than two thou- 
sand pounds, though we are assured the soUcitors have 
been very moderate in their charges. Considering all 
the circumstances of the case, more especially that it 
was only in consequence of his efficiency and zeal in 
our cause that he was attacked and subjected to this 
heavy charge, it would manifestly have been utterly 
unjust if the friends of the negroes had not made 
common cause with him, the rather, indeed, because 
it may be truly affirmed that his family had already lost 
much by his attaching himself so nobly to us. It was 
therefore agreed, that application should be privately 
made to those who were best able to contribute, he 
himself being allowed only to subscribe one share to 
the common fund . . . the permission so to do being 
granted to him whenever it should be notified to him 
that the requisite sum had been nearly raised, for the 
intention to make the effort has not yet been commu- 
nicated to him. I will give you below a list of those 
who have agreed to come forward, among whom I 
understand the soHcitor who conducts the cause to be 
himself one. 

Yours, &c. 

W. WlLBERFORCE. 

P. S. I will mention one instance of Macaulay's gene- 
rosity. By a combination of sagacity and perseverance, 
he detected an attempt made by a high diplomatic cha- 
racter to render an apparent act of public duty the means 
of carrying off a number of slaves from Africa to Bra- 
zil ; — the vessel was prosecuted, and the profits to the 
seizer (Macaulay himself) were of the value of above 
1200/., which, however, he gave up to the Custom House 
officers for the benefit of the general cause. 



320 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO S. HOARE, ESQ., JUN. 

Hampstead Heath, Sunday night, July 27, J 828. 

My dear young Friend, 

I am persuaded nny troubling you with a few 
lines will need no apology from me, when you know that 
your dear mother suggested to me the idea of so doing. 
Yet 1 hope it is needless for me to assure you (and yet 
this must be my main purpose) that I take great and 
sincere interest in your goings on. 

Your dear father was about your own age, I remem- 
ber, when by his father I was introduced to him, and I 
formed a confident hope that he would in after-life be- 
come a good man ; consequently a blessing to his coun- 
try, having the root of happiness within himself, and the 
fruit when ripened to gratify and refresh others. I 
rejoice to hear that you are endeavouring to use all the 
means of improving yourself which Providence throws 
in your way ; but I most of all rejoice to hear that you 
manifest in these your early years a disposition to enter 
into and press forward in that narrow way which leadeth 
unto life eternal. We have the highest authority for ' 
saying that you will find it a way of pleasantness and 
peace ; for you will look for your happiness to Him who 
can even give " songs in the night," and in the midst of 
outward trials can give light arid joy to the inner man ! 
But I must lay down my pen, assuring you that it has 
been my wish and shall be my prayer that you may be 
an honour to your name, a comfort to the advancing 
years of those you love most dearly (blessed be God 
this is an enjoyment of which I can speak from my own 
experience.) May you enjoy a protracted course of 
usefulness and comfort, to be followed bv a still better 
portion in a better world ! Accept this assurance from 
Your affectionate old Friend, 

But not so old as affectionate, 

W. WrLBERFORCE. 



321 

JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

(Docketed : Private. — Dear Stephen suo more affectionate and pious.) 

Kensington Gore, Wednesday evening, 
December 3, 1828. 

My dear Wilberforce, 

I am happy and thankful to hear that you have 
returned home in improved and comfortable health. On 
my return from Missenden to chambers on Monday, I 
was tantalized with an invitation from Macaulay "to 
meet you at dinner, of which I could not avail myself. 
I might have broken through my rule on such an occa- 
sion, though not yet wilUng to relinquish it ; but was 
obliged, by weighty reasons, to come here as soon as I 
could quit my office ; and though I meant to call in 
my way, or rather out of my way, found myself too late 
to do so. In the morning I was equally unfortunate, 
having slept so late in consequence of having risen for 
my journey the day before at five, that I could barely 
save my distance at chambers. I was half angry with 
you for not having apprised me beforehand that you 
were to be for a short time within my reach. Till the 
receipt of M.'s letter I supposed you still at Bath. 

You probably do not recollect, my dear friend, but I 
still do, and with affectionate gratitude, a visit that you 
made me in Sloane Street this day exactly thirty-four 
years ago. It was a very useful one. This is one of 
the anniversaries on which I remember sorrows that 
this life cannot compensate, but trace from them the 
wonderful and beneficent ways of that divine benefactor, 
who, 

" Behind a frowning Providence oft hides a smiling face." 

I remember an incident that occurred just as you 
entered my room, and which I believe I told you of at 
the time, that might almost give one confidence in the 
sories VirgiliancB. I had for the first time caught up a 
book to turn the current of my dismal and intolerable 
thoughts. It was a Virgil, which one of my boys had 



322 

brought from school and left m the room, and I strangely- 
enough opened on that affecting passage in which the 
spirit of the departed Creusa appears to her distracted 
husband, while searching for her amidst the ruins of 
burning Troy, and comforts him with the predictions 
of future blessings from his loss. The regia conjux had 
then no comfort or supposable meaning for me, though 
the general spirit of the passage, connected as it was 
with my own sudden and dreadful privation, and with 
the unseen purposes of Providence in such events, gave 
a soothing turn to my thoughts. I have since, on the 
recollection of it, applied the regia conjux to one of 
whom I had then never heard, and whose royalty was 
of the best kind, and is now, I doubt not, marked with 
a celestial crown. Nor was your coming at that crisis, 
and your subsequent compassionate and affectionate con- 
duct, a needless link in the chain of events that led to my 
union with her. I sincerely wished for a long time after 
to drop all intercourse with you and the friends that 
surrounded you. I disliked all society except that of 
my poor orphans and the kind relations who took the 
charge of them. I wished and expected soon to die ; 
and besides, had a blamable aversion for the company 
of those who stood higher in rank or fortune than my- 
self, especially for the Pittite aristocrats, whom I gene- 
rally met at your table. But you, my kind friend, would 
not suffer me to forsake you ; and the recollection of 
your tender, generous conduct at that crisis of my afflic- 
tions was a tie that bound my heart to you, till I found, 
two or three years after, another bond of attachment. 

Give my love to Mrs. W., and whatever other mem- 
bers of your dear family are now at Highwood Hill. 
Ever yours very affectionately, 

J. SlEPHEPf. 



323 

WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS. 

Highwood Hill, Middlesex, February 9, 1829. 

My very dear , 

If you do not possess a set of Venn's sermons, I 
must send them to you, and recommend them, not for 
your parishioners' use, but for your own. They contain 
much good sense, and a strain of true piety. He was a 
man, for whose writings, it will, I doubt not, be a strong 
recommendation to you, that I entertained for the man 
himself the highest esteem and affection. There was in 
him a singular compound of the pathetic and the hu- 
morous. He was very shy, as is commonly the case 
with those who most deserve that we should take pains 
to obtain their friendship ; but when you did succeed, 
you obtained a prize well worth the price you had paid, 
how great soever, of pains and perseverance, for it. I 
am sorry to find that two of the books you wished to be 
sent to you, Eusebius and Gibbon's Answer to his oppo- 
nents, have been sought for in vain. 

I hope you are reading Richmond's Life. He was an 
excellent man, and without any superiority of talents or 
acquirements was eminently useful. Indeed, the pains 
he took with his parishioners indicated such a zeal in 
his Master's cause, as could scarcely fail to impress the 
hearts of his flock with a sense of the interest he took 
in their w^ell being. It slipped out of my mind while 
I was writing the last sentence, that Lord Sheffield, the 
editor of Gibbon's posthumous works and his great 
friend, assured me one day when sitting next him at 
Lambeth on a public day, that Gibbon assured him that^ 
he had not at first any idea of attacking Christianity in 
those chapters — " credat JudcBus 1 — liaud ego" 

By the way, I have purchased, deeming it a duty, 
Bowdler's expurgated edition of Gibbon's History. '^ Vir- 
ginihus puerisque canto." Bowdler's w^ork deserves en- 
couragement I have been interrupted repeatedly 

whilst writing this letter, hence my forgetting just now 
that I was speaking of Mr. Richmond's pastoral dili- 



324 

gence. One summer for several months we were 
only four miles from Turvey, Richmond's parish — he 
then habitually met his parishioners four, if not five, 
times in the week. One evening he would read some 
book, and make remarks upon it ; e. g. the Pilgrim's 
Progress ; on another he would pray and sing hymns. I 
have been at one of these evening meetings, and have 
seen a barn, fitted up a little for the purpose, filled with 
the peasantry in the smock frocks in which they had 
been labouring. I forget whether or not you have 
Scott's Life — it is well worth your habitual perusal. 
Have you Chalmers's Scripture References ? I mean the 
first tract. I will send you it as soon as I can. I will 
enclose a bank note for 51. for your poor, and I beg 
you will always tell me honestly when you want aid to 
your charity fund. I am forced to scribble in extreme 

haste. My very dear , I daily pray twice for you, 

and so I hope you do for me. Oh ! prayer, prayer is the 
grand maintainor of the spiritual life. It is on the ac- 
count of its curtailing or hurrying over your private 
prayers that I have always been jealous of early hours 
for family prayers at home, and of late rising. 

May God in Christ bless you and yours in your souls, 
and yourself in your ministrations ! is the earnest wish 
and prayer of you? afl?ectionate father, 

W. WiLEERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO ONE OF HIS SONS. 

Highwood Hill, Middlesex, February 18, 1829. 



My dear 



Though you live in a place and in circumstances 
which may not afford many striking matters for narra- 
tive, yet where correspondents love each other as aflfec- 
tionately as we do, matter can never be wanting. It 
would interest me to hear how you are going on in your 
parish, what you preach about, how you are received by 
your flock, and in what state you find them, both in 
what respects their spiritual state and their temporal 



825 

condition, (my fingers just now are cold, and I have §.0 
inditferently formed a pen, that it keeps slipping about, 
-a circumstance fully entitled to a place in the list of 
the minor miseries,) at what hours you breakfast, dine, 
&c. ; in short, send me a journal of your ordinary 
days, for I presume they are one very much like the other. 
You hear, I presume, the bustle at Oxford. I own I 
think they are using Peel harshly. I well remember 
from experience, that one of the most painful trials of 
principle to which a public man is exposed is when his 
sense of duty prompts him to change a course of conduct 
he has long deemed it his duty to pursue, conscious that 
he will thereby bring on him not only the hostility and 
reproaches, but the gibes and jeers, of his old friends, 
perhaps incur a breach of friendship long and dear. I 
cannot but believe that the Duke of Wellington is con- 
vinced that if we were still to pursue the course we have 
been taking for years a civil war would be the conse- 
quence ; and as he is a man not likely from delicacy or 
fear to be unwilling to go to war, and from sagacity and ex- 
perience better fitted than any other man living for form- 
ing a just calculation of the result, and particularly as he 
is not likely from timidity to see the danger in too strong 
a light, I am disposed to give more weight to his judg- 
ment than to that of any other person. — The post is on 
the point of departure. 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO MISS WILBERFORCE. 

(Private.) 

Highwood Hill, July 15, 1830. 



My dear 



I was compelled to make up in extreme haste, 

and to finish full as rapidly, the letter to you which is 

just despatched to the post ofl^ice, and I recollected, 

when it was too late to supply the defect, that there was 

VOL. II. 28 



326 

not in my epistle a single word of a serious, or rather 
of a religious character. Now, though I do not carry 
my principle in this respect so far as some good people 
have done, thinking it wrong that any letter under any 
circumstances should be sent off without containing 
some religious sentiments, yet at my time of life, almost 
a year beyond that stated by the Psalmist to be the or- 
dinary limit of the life of man, and more especially 
when a daughter is addressed, I do think there should 
be some recognition of those influential principles which 
ought ever to be uppermost in a Christian's bosom. 
And if from any one the constant exhibition of religious 
principles and feelings might be expected,' assuredly 
from me, in whose heart there may well be expected a 
continual breathing forth of adoring gratitude to my 
God and Saviour, for all the long course of goodness 
and mercy by which my life has been distinguished. 
I have often thought that if I had been imbued with the 
notions described in Mrs. Grant's letters from the High- 
lands, (notions which represent the Deity as being 
jealous of the happiness of his creatures,) I should cer- 
tainly have supposed that I must prepare for some 
signal misfortune, to counterbalance all the accumulated 
blessings which had been poured out on me in such rich 
and increasing profusion. But oh how much more 
generous, as well as just, are the views of the character 
of the Supreme Being, our heavenly Father, which we 
derive from the word of God ! " God is love !" Even 
under a dispensation which, when compared with that 
of the gospel, may be deemed to wear somewhat of a 
harsh and repulsive countenance, the Jews were told 
that the laws prescribed to them were devised for their 
good ; but under our more generous and gracious system, 
judgment and punishment are termed the strange work 
of God ; and mercy, and long-suffering, and bounty, 
and loving-kindness, are his habitual dispositions towards 
us. Even when speaking to sinners (there is scarcely 
any passage in the whole Bible which has afforded me 
so much comfort) the language is, " The Lord takes 
pleasure in them that fear Him, in them that hope in His 



327 

mercy." Only consider the force of that assurance, and 
the comfort it must give to any who may be appre- 
hensive of being presumptuous in indulging hopes of 
pardon. They are assured, not that they may presume 
to hope that their sins may be forgiven, but that by so 
hoping they y^\\\ display the very disposition of mind in 
which God takes pleasure. Believe me to be, 
Ever your very affectionate Father, 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ. 

Highwood Hill, Middlesex, August 7, 1830. 

My dear Stephen, 

First, your letter shall be laid up in safety, and 
next, I really am in better spirits about our cause than I 
have been for some time past. It is not merely that we 
have gained, as I believe, several members by the new 
elections, though that, I trust, is something, but I cannot 
help believing that any government that will be now 
formed in France, will be favourable to the real, practical, 
entire extinction of the slave trade ; and very soon after 
the meeting of our Parliament an address must be 
moved, praying the Crown to concert with the foreign 
courts for the carrying into execution of the various 
treaties. An engagement to abolish has now been con- 
tracted by every power in Europe, and by Brazil in the 
New World, and many of the South American repub- 
lics, and also Mexico, either have prohibited or will 
prohibit it. It would be a grand achievement — ^just a 
measure to hold out a strong inducement to the new 
member for Yorkshire (for such I doubt not Brougham 
now is) to move for a congress of the great powers of 
Europe, or of the world, to arrange the method of carry- 
ing this great measure into execution. I really believe 
that his election for Yorkshire, on the ground of his 
being the advocate of the slaves, will have a power- 
ful effect. You see my prospect is not so dark as 
yours ; yet I well remember your letters. I forget the 



328 

signature in which you accumulated a number of 
instances in which the scourge appeared to have been 
ah'eady inflicted on the chief provokers of the penal 
vengeance of the Almighty, by their long-continued 
devastations in Africa. 1 hope you have those letters in 
safe custody. In forming our plan of operations, I trust 
v>ie shall pay due regard to its manifest expediency, whe- 
ther with a view to our own chieftains, or to the rank 
and file in the House of Commons who were made to 
declare themselves friendly to our cause. 

I hope you will let us see you before you go to 
Missenden for the summer. We naturally wish to see 
our dear 's future field of operations, and shall pro- 
bably, please God, go to him in the Isle of Wight ere 
long, for I shall wish to take an autumnal course of Bath 
water. While it pleases God to continue this crazy 
tenement, it appears right to endeavour to keep it fit 
for some occupation. But alas! my dear Stephen, I 
am a most unprofitable servant. I assure you the 
consideration often lowers my spirits sadly, but — I was 
here forced to lay down my pen, and have only time to 
say, May every blessing be your portion ] 

So ever prays 

W. WiLBERFORCE. 



So Brougham is M. P. for Yorkshire. 



LORD HOLLAND TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

Holland House, October 1, 1830. 

My dear Sir, 

I enclose a Moniteur at the request of Lord John 
Russell, and his letter to explain the object of it, not 
only as an old fellow-labourer, though a humble one, in 
the vineyard, but even in a capacity you do not equally 
respect, that of a West Indian proprietor. I am most 
anxious to see the AboHtion enforced, and agree entirely 
with Lafayette that this is a most favourable moment for 
enforcing it, by making it piracy according to the law 



329 

of nations, and authorizing all armed ships of whatever 
state to seize all, under whatever flag they nnay be, who 
are engaged in that traffic. You will do me the justice 
to believe that on the other parts of the subject I am 
not less sincere in wishing to see the object accom- 
plished, though I do not always agree in the means of 
attaining it. Perhaps, being both an old abolitionist 
and a West Indian proprietor, I may take Sir Roger de 
Coverley's liberty of censuring both, and I own, if the 
former would talk a little less, and the latter do a little 
more, I think the progress to the end in view would be 
much more safe, and I believe more rapid too, than it is 
likely to become in the present state of irritation between 
the parties. Pray forgive me for allowing my pen to 
run on so much. It is long since I had the pleasure of 
seeing you, and I am gratified at the opportunity of re- 
calling myself to your recollection. 

Yours truly, 

Yassall Holland. 

Both Lady Holland and myself were delighted to 
hear so favourable an account of vou from Sir James 
Mackintosh. 



Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. TO WM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

London, November 26, 1832. 

My dear Friend, 

I have to give you some good news as to our 
cause. Sir James Graham has had an interview with 
Buxton. He saw him as the delegate of the cabinet. 
The interview w^as satisfactory. The government feel 
that some eflfectual step for extinguishing slavery must 
be taken this session, and they wish us to say what that 
shall be. They admit that it is now in our power to 
dictate terms, w^ith which, in the present state of feeling 
in this country, if not unreasonable, they might be forced 



330 

to comply. But it is their real wish to be able to 
concur with us, and they therefore desire us to state our 
plan. If it is safe and practicable, they wall adopt it as 
their own, and carry it through the House. The basis 
of it, it is felt not merely on account of the public feel- 
ing at home, but on account of the state of the islands 
and the violence of the planters, must be emancipation 
under due precautionary regulations. 

Buxton at once explained to them our views, and 
gave them the following outline : — This country must 
go to the expense of an efficient paid magistracy and a 
strong police, and even an armed force to back that 
police, in order to keep not merely the blacks, but still 
more the whites, in complete submission. 

This pohce will mainly consist of the free now in the 
islands, aided by the most intelligent and religious of the 
present slaves. 

The slaves shall remain as they are for a year or two ; 
but be delivered wholly from the arbitrary power of the 
master and from the whip, and shall work five days in 
the week for reasonable wages, to be fixed by protectors, 
Saturday and Sunday being their own. The working 
hours of the day shall be nine or ten, and all beyond 
that, and all night-work, shall be voluntary on the part 
of the labourer, and paid for by agreement. At the 
end of a year, or two years at most, the present slave 
will be freed from the necessity of working for his 
former master, except by his own choice and by mutual 
contract, and may contract with whom he will and for 
what wages he can get, or may buy, or rent, or cultivate, 
land for himself. In short, he will then be free, but 
only bound to work in some way and for some one, and 
wholly to maintain himself and family by industry. 

In all other respects, the laws for black and white, 
as to person and property, connubial rights, evidence, 
&c. are to be the same, except as to restrictions for a 
time on idleness and vagrancy, which are to be met 
chiefly by mulcts, and labour on the tread-mill, for 
example. 



331 

Schools and religious instruction to be made para- 
mount objects. 

All this to be accompanied by a loan to the planters, 
to relieve them from their heavy incumbrances! 

The question of compensation to be equitably consi- 
dered, (after a term of years, say five or ten,) as to the 
profitable working of the old or new system. 

All further sales of human beings, or separations of 
famihes, to cease at once. 

Sir James Graham not only did not shrink from all 
this, but said it was the very line in which his ideas and 
those of his colleagues had moved, and he thought 
Government would be ready to go with us generally. 
He wished the outline, v^^hen ready, to be at once sub- 
mitted to Government for consideration, and he had 
little doubt of our coming to an amicable agreement. I 

have since conferred with , and he thinks things 

are ripe for obtaining nearly the full extent of our 
wishes. We shall of course lose no time in propounding 
our propositions. 

I fear I make myself imperfectly understood ; but the 
main features of the plan are the substitution of law and 
wages for compulsory labour and arbitrary punishment 
— with schools and ministers. 

All this is of course strictly private at present — but I 
could not withhold from you our raised expectations. 

In haste, ever yours, 

Z. Macaulay. 



Z. MACAULAY, ESQ. TO WxM. WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 

May 15, 1833. 
My dear Friend, 

This day ten years ago the abolition of slavery 
was first made a question in Parliament. Last night its 
death-blow was struck. I send you a copy of the de- 
bate. Stanley's allusion to you was quite overpowering, 



332 

and electrified the House. My dear friend, let me unite 
with you in thanks to God for this mercy. 

I have really been much occupied, and unable to 

write — but I have mourned over Sargent , and felt 

all your trials. 

Ever yours affectionately, 

Z. Macaulay. 



THE END. 








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